October 23, 1983,241 marines, sailors and soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack while they were keeping the peace in Lebanon.
A monument now sits on the bank of Lake Hamilton in Struthers. And crowds return every year on Memorial Day and the Sunday before the anniversary of the attack to remember those who died.
Frank Sokol is Commandant of the Tri-State Marine League out of Youngstown he tells us, "The Marine Corps League here believes it is our privilege and our honor and our duty to come down here and remember these young people."
For three area families the Beirut bombing hit too close to home. Edward Johnston, of Struthers, Stanley Sliwinski of Niles, and James McDonough of New Castle lost their lives in the attack.
During the ceremony family members came forward to place a wreath at the monument in honor of their lost loved ones. The families are honored that 26 years after the tragedy, dozens of people still show up to remember those men who gave their lives on that October morning.
Mary Ann Beck lost her brother Edward Johnston she tells us, "With every remembrance service, you know, we don't forget as was said today. But even these survivor marines and other servicemen that come, it shows them that people aren't forgetting them either and what sacrifices they made."
