Pacifica Military History Free Sample Chapters.pmd

448 Pacifica Military History
“Eric Hammel’s well-written book . . . strikes a deep emotional chord
. . .” —Naval Institute Proceedings
“(The Root is) a book about the violence of combat, a first-hand account
of death and danger, fear, pain and survival. . . . ” —Baltimore Sun
“A disturbingly accurate portrait…well-researched (and) well-crafted.
. . .” —Kirkus Reviews
“This is a moving book which tells a story that needs to be told.” —San
Diego Union
Note: The following article is excerpted from the book THE ROOT:
The Marines in Beirut, August 1982 - February 1984 by Eric Hammel.
The book is currently available in a $24.95 trade paperback edition
published by Zenith Press. It is also available in ebook editions.
A DEATH IN BEIRUT
by Eric Hammel
Copyright 1994 © by Eric Hammel
The 24th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and Battalion Landing Team
(BLT) 1/8 arrived in a quiescent Beirut in May 1983 as part of the
Multinational Force of Western peacekeepers. On August 29, 1983, at
the sudden renewal of the Lebanese Civil War, the Marine battalion lost
two killed and fourteen wounded and began a series of fire fights that
went largely unreported in the American media. On September 6, two
more Marines were killed and fighting involving Marines seriously
intensified. Throughout September, Marines were engaged in daily
warfare with Moslem militiamen belonging to various factions of the
Shiite Amal (Hope) coalition. In addition to the four Marines who were
killed, nearly seventy were wounded, many seriously. Hampered by rules
of engagement that seriously curtailed their retaliatory options, Marines