[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1951-E1952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          COMMENDING THE MEMBERS OF THE MARINE SECURITY GUARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARTIN FROST

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 7, 1998

  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the 
House the bravery and heroics of the members of the Marine Security 
Guard at our embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania 
following the horrific and tragic bombing there on August 8. I have the 
honor of submitting for the Congressional Record a report filed by Lt. 
Colonel Dennis Sabal which details the devotion to duty and courage 
under fire exhibited by the Marines who were charged with the 
responsibility of guarding those two embassies. It is a credit to our 
Nation that our Marines have and will continue to guard, in the words 
of Lt. Col. Sabal, ``Americans and America's interests abroad, as 
marines have done for over 222 years.''


       Colonel Burgess: It has been almost 96 hours since the 
     devastating blasts ripped through the American Embassies in 
     Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. With the 
     situation at both embassies now somewhat stabilized, I want 
     to take a few moments and attempt to paint a picture of the 
     events leading up to the blasts as well as provide you with a 
     commander's perspective of the actions of our Marines 
     subsequent to the explosions.
       On Friday morning, 8 August 1998 at 10:30 am local Kenyan 
     time (03:30 EST), Corporal Samuel Gonite was standing Post 
     One in the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. At 
     approximately 10:35, Marine Sergeant Jesse ``Nathan'' 
     Aliganga walked into the embassy to cash a check. Corporal 
     Gonite watched Sergeant Aliganga walk past Post One, get onto 
     the elevator, and ascend to the bank.
       At the same time and unbeknownst to anyone in the embassy, 
     two men pulled up to the rear guard shack of the embassy, 
     which was manned by the local Kenyan security force. This 
     parking lot, which was sandwiched in between a 60 story bank 
     building and a smaller bank building, was also the entrance 
     into the underground garage for the embassy. Reportedly, a 
     man approached the local guard and demanded he open the gate 
     (leading into the embassy's underground garage) to which the 
     local guard refused. At this time, the man hurled what was 
     believed to be a grenade in the direction of the guard.
       Inside the embassy, people heard the explosion and 
     reportedly got up to look out of their windows when at 10:40 
     am, a truck filled with explosives crashed into the rear wall 
     of the embassy adjacent to the underground garage, and 
     exploded. Corporal Gonite was immediately knocked to the 
     ground by the concussion of the blast. The glass 
     surrounding Post One was shattered but remained in tact. 
     The detachment commander, Gunnery Sergeant Cross, upon 
     hearing the first blast, immediately went for the ladder 
     well and was shielded from the main blast. The Chancery 
     was in shambles.
       When the truck exploded, the small bank building behind the 
     embassy collapsed onto the chancery's emergency generator, 
     spilling thousands of gallons of diesel fuel into the 
     basement of the embassy. The diesel fuel ignited and smoke 
     and fire were billowing throughout the embassy. As injured 
     and confused people were running out of the chancery 
     screaming and choking, the Marines were running into the 
     building looking for survivors.

[[Page E1952]]

       With no thought for their own lives, having no idea what 
     else may happen, or whether or not the shattered structure 
     would cave in on them, the Marines immediately reacted and 
     began a sweep of the building.
       Sergeant Briehl, who was waiting outside the embassy in the 
     car, immediately darted into the building looking for 
     Sergeant Aliganga. He ran to the elevator shafts behind post 
     one, which were completely destroyed, and fell two floors 
     down into the shaft, breaking three ribs and sustaining 
     multiple lacerations and bruises. Sergeant Briehl managed to 
     climb out of the elevator shaft and continued his search for 
     Sergeant Aliganga. Sergeant Outt, who was in Nairobi from 
     Bujumbura for a dental appointment, as well as Sergeant 
     Harper, who was on COT leave in Nairobi from Accra, 
     immediately reached with the Marines and manned posts around 
     the embassy.
       At this time, we had Gunnery Sergeant Cross, Sergeants 
     Russel, Jiminez, Briehl, Outt, Harper, and Corporal Gonite on 
     board. These Marines immediately made their way through the 
     rubble, fire and smoke looking for survivors, fended off 
     local looters who swarmed the embassy moments after the 
     blast, secured classified material, and most importantly to 
     them, began the search for their brother, Sergeant Aliganga.
       To provide a bit of situational awareness, the embassy in 
     Nairobi is a seven floor concrete structure with five above 
     ground and two below ground levels. It was situated on two 
     major avenues of approach with minimal stand off distance 
     between the road and the structure. When the bomb exploded, 
     the force of the blast was so devastating that it blew out 
     almost every closed window and frame on the building. 12 inch 
     thick concrete walls on all floors of the embassy were 
     shattered like thin plates of glass. Solid wooden doors 
     mounted on steel frames were sent airborne landing throughout 
     the structure. Windows on office buildings over a quarter of 
     a mile away were shattered. There was not an office space 
     that survived inside of the embassy. Bodies were spread all 
     over, most of which were buried under up to eight feet of 
     rubble.
       At the same time, the Regional Security Officer for the 
     American Embassy in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, John DiCarlo, a 
     former Marine Security Guard, had taken post one from 
     Corporal Johnson in order for him to make a head call.
       At approximately 10:40 am, a truck bomb exploded outside 
     the security gate, ripping through the embassy. Corporal 
     Johnson was knocked to the deck. He stood up, and immediately 
     ran to Post One where he found it intact, but inoperable. 
     Corporal Johnson immediately reacted the Marines, which 
     were all at the Marine BEQ during the explosion, and 
     informed all mission personnel to evacuate the building. 
     Corporal Johnson donned his react gear and took control of 
     the Command Center.
       The detachment commander, Gunnery Sergeant Kimble, arrived 
     at the Embassy approximately 4-5 minutes after the blast and 
     began checking offices throughout the chancery to insure all 
     personnel were safely out of the building. One of the 
     casualties of the explosion was Gunnery Sergeant Kimble's 
     wife Cynthia, who sustained bruises and eye injuries from 
     flying glass. While Cynthia was flown to London to receive 
     eye surgery. Gunnery Sergeant Kimble never lost focus on the 
     mission at hand. Within eight minutes of the blast, Sergeant 
     Sivason, and first post's Corporals Bohn, Hatfield, Johnson, 
     and McCabe began working through the chancery clearing all 
     rooms of personnel. No direction was required as each Marine 
     knew exactly what had to be done.
       Due to the enormous amount of smoke and fire, the decision 
     was made to evacuate Post One and the Marines fell back to 
     their secondary positions.
       Corporal Johnson took security for the mission personnel at 
     the rear of the Embassy, and all other Marines took up 
     perimeter security around the building. The force of the 
     blast blew out every window in the chancery, and all doors 
     except post one. The hardline doors, which are located on the 
     opposite side of the embassy, were forced open by the blast. 
     Emergency fire exits on the opposite side of the building in 
     which the blast occurred were blown off the hinges. Concrete 
     walls within the Embassy were knocked down and safes were 
     moved and in some cases knocked over. During the search of 
     the building the Marines had to bust through walls in order 
     to get to areas unattainable during their sweep. Within four 
     hours of the truck bomb, which damaged diplomatic properties 
     and houses up to 1000 meters away, the embassy was secure 
     with MSGs maintaining 24 hour security on the building until 
     the arrival of the FAST team.
       In Nairobi, Marines continued to work throughout the day 
     cleaning the embassy, providing local security (as the local 
     constabulary proved worthless), moving the injured and the 
     dead from the rubble to safety. The condition of many of the 
     dead was horrific, making the task of search and rescue that 
     much more difficult for all concerned. By 03.00, I arrived on 
     the scene with my XO, 1stSgt, and admin chief, all of whom 
     had been stationed in the Nairobi embassy for over a year and 
     knew the ground, and two MSGs from the Pretoria det, who 
     quickly took up posts around the embassy.
       By 04:00, a number of Army special forces NCOs had 
     volunteered to stand post to give the Marines a much needed 
     break. 1stSgt Quzman took the post from the det commander and 
     I ordered the Marines home to shower and sleep. At first 
     light, all of the Marines were back to continue their Mission 
     while looking for Sergeant Alganga. After hours of digging by 
     hand through tons of rubble, behind Post One and in the 
     elevator shafts, we moved to the area of the bank. This was 
     one of the hardest hit areas as it was one floor up and only 
     about 50 feet from the blast site. Twelve inch slabs of 
     reinforced concrete were piled up to the ceiling, while 
     desks, computers, and file cabinets were reduced to scrap. 
     The Marines and Army S/F personnel, along with DOS personnel 
     worked frantically against the clock. By this time, over 
     thirty bodies had been recovered from the rubble, 
     including ten Americans.
       Finally, at exactly 14:30 local time, after 27 hours and 
     fifty minutes of relentless digging with their bare hands, 
     the body of Sergeant Aliganga was recovered from the rubble. 
     Once positively identified, the Marines then gently wrapped 
     Sergeant Aliganga in the American flag, and very purposefully 
     marched him through the rubble and out of the embassy to the 
     waiting vehicle. Although there were no cameras present, nor 
     was there any music playing, the crowds seemed to still, and 
     people stood erect, with tears running down their faces, as 
     the body of another United States Marine, who gave his life 
     in defense of his country, was ushered away.
       By nightfall, the FAST team arrived and quickly took up the 
     perimeter security of the embassy, freeing the MSGs to return 
     to the still ongoing task of recovering classified material 
     and equipment from the rubble.
       Sir, I apologize that my words are insufficient to more 
     accurately describe the true essence of this horrific 
     tragedy. What must not be missed is the incredible bravery 
     and heroism displayed by our Marine Security Guards. Without 
     any regard for their own lives or safety, they maintained 
     incredible presence of mind in the face of tremendous 
     devastation. Each marine continued to serve our country and 
     our Department of State with distinction. Even through the 
     chaos and the fog, our Marines never lost focus of their 
     mission. They were models of strength to be emulated by all.
       As you finish reading this synopsis, the Marines from 
     Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam, augmented by Sergeant Harper from 
     Accra, Sergeant Lawlor from Bonn, Sergeant Outt from 
     Bujumbura, Sergeant Boudah from Dublin, Corporal Graff and 
     Sergeant Wolf from Frankfurt, Sergeant Salizar from the 
     Hague, Sergeant Alberto and Corporal Durden from London, 
     Sergeant Jackson from Paris, Sergeant Smith and Corporal 
     Cornell from Pretoria, and Sergeant Reynolds from Rome, are 
     manning makeshift embassies as our MSGs continue to support 
     our Department of State. They have not missed a beat and will 
     continue guarding Americans and America's interests abroad, 
     as marines have done for over 222 years.
           Semper Fidelis and Very Respectfully,
                                                     Dennis Sabal,
                            Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps.

     

                          ____________________