[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1455 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1455

  Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the 
        United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2008

Mr. LaHood (for himself, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Boustany, and Mr. 
  Issa) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the 
        United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

Whereas October 23, 2008 marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist bombing on 
        October 23, 1983;
Whereas 241 members of the Armed Forces of the United States, including 220 
        members of the United States Marine Corps, were killed;
Whereas, on October 24, 1983, the House of Representatives agreed to House 
        Resolution 345, Ninety-eighth Congress, honoring the memory of those who 
        lost their lives in Beirut;
Whereas the terrorist bombing was the deadliest day for the United States Marine 
        Corps since World War II, when the United States Marine Corps fought to 
        secure Iwo Jima;
Whereas the October 23, 1983 attack came in the wake of a multinational 
        intervention striving to restore order and peace in a war-torn Lebanon;
Whereas the terrorist bombing was preceded by an April 18, 1983 terrorist attack 
        involving a car bomb that struck the United States Embassy in Beirut, 
        Lebanon, wounding more than 100 people and killing 86 people, including 
        17 Americans, 32 Lebanese embassy employees, and 14 embassy visitors and 
        bystanders;
Whereas, on September 20, 1984, a bombing of the United States Embassy annex in 
        Beirut killed over 20 people;
Whereas Hezbollah reportedly assisted or was complicit in the abduction, 
        torture, and murder of United States hostages from 1984 to 1991, 
        including Army officer William F. Buckley, the CIA station chief in 
        Beirut, who was abducted by Hezbollah in 1984 and who died in captivity, 
        and William Higgins, a colonel in the United States Marine Corps and 
        commander of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, who was 
        seized by Hezbollah in 1988, tortured, and eventually hanged;
Whereas Navy diver Robert Stethem was brutally beaten by terrorists before being 
        shot to death during the 1985 Hezbollah hijacking of TWA Flight 847;
Whereas the families of those brave members of the United States Marine Corps 
        continue to mourn the loss of their loved ones who lost their lives 
        during the terrorist bombing;
Whereas terrorism remains a threat to the international community; and
Whereas young men and women in the Armed Forces of the United States continue to 
        preserve freedom by fighting terrorism around the world: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives, in commemoration of 
the terrorist bombing of the United States Marine Corps barracks in 
Beirut, Lebanon--
            (1) recalls with sadness, the October 23, 1983 terrorist 
        bombing in Beirut;
            (2) extends its prayers and sympathies to the families of 
        the 241 members of the Armed Forces of the United States who 
        died and others who were wounded in the bombing;
            (3) calls upon all people of the United States to remember 
        the members of the Armed Forces of the United States' bravery 
        and service to their country; and
            (4) honors the dedication and courage of all members of the 
        Armed Forces of the United States, including members of reserve 
        components, who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the United 
        States.
                                 <all>