US honors Americans, Lebanese slain in service
The United States Embassy held a ceremony on Friday in honor of those who lost their lives while serving the US in Lebanon. "American and Lebanese staff members of the US Embassy, survivors of the attacks, and guests remembered their lost colleagues and friends knowing that each of them had worked for the strong and enduring relationship between Lebanon and the United States," an embassy statement said.
The ceremony, presided over by US Ambassador Michele Sison, too place adjacent to the granite memory on the Embassy grounds in the Beirut suburb of Awkar.
This memorial honors the 52 Lebanese and Americans who died on April 18, 1983 when the former Embassy was bombed, the nine who died on September 20, 1984 in the bombing of the Embassy annex, the 241 US servicemen who were killed in the October 23, 1983 bombing of the US Marine Corps Barracks, and those who were lost in other tragic incidents from 1976 to 1995.
"The memorial is an enduring reminder of the sacrifices made by so many who believed in the relationship between Lebanon and the United States," the embassy said in its statement on Friday.
"At Sison”s request, participants observed a moment of silence in honor of all of those who died working for the cause of peace and democracy in Lebanon," the statement added.