Forty years ago today, 241 US Servicemen were killed in the bomb attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. The Marines were members of the 1st Battalion 8th Marines (Battalion Landing Team – BLT 1/8) of the 2nd Marine Division. The casualties made this incident the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II and the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Armed Forces since the first day of the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War.

This was the opening volley of what we have been fighting since that day – the War on Terror sponsored by Iran.

Speaking of the Marines in private remarks, President Ronald Reagan noted; "The goal we sought in that troubled place was worthy of their best and they gave their best. They were no part of our failure to achieve that goal.”

Today, and the rest of this week, I will fly my flag at half-mast in remembrance of them.

“Semper Fi”.