RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Virginia War Memorial in Richmond hosted a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday to honor the victims of the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon on the attack’s 40-year anniversary.
According to the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, the event honored the 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy Sailors and 3 U.S. Army Soldiers stationed at the barracks who were killed in the bombing on Oct. 23, 1983. Of the 220 Marines killed, 11 were from Virginia.
Craig Crenshaw, Virginia’s Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs who spent over 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, was one of the people who spoke at the event. Gov. Glenn Youngkin was also in attendance.