Beirut Memorial - UN Peace Mission to Lebanon ~ Jacksonville, NC, USA
Posted by: YoSam.
N 34° 44.870 W 077° 24.887
18S E 278950 N 3847735
Referred to by Marines as "The Other Wall"
Waymark Code: WMNCV2
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 02/16/2015
Views: 10
County of memorial: Onslow County
Location of Memorial: Lejeune Blvd., Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, Jacksonville
Commissioned by The People of Jacksonville North Carolina
Dedicated: October 23, 1986
Large concrete wall: Inscribed:
BEIRUT MEMORIAL
THEY CAME IN PEACE
[names listed can be viewed in the photo gallery]
Plaque text:
BEIRUT MEMORIAL
Honoring the men
Who gave their lives in Lebanon
1982 - 1984
May we always remember
Those who are ready
To protect our freedom
* * *
Second Plaque:
The Other Wall
It does not stand in Washington
By others of its kind
In prominence and dignity
With mission clear defined
It does not list the men who died
That tyranny should cease
But speaks in silent eloquence
Of those who came in peace.
This Other Wall is solemn white
And cut in simple lines
And it nestles in the splendor
Of the Carolina pines
And on this wall there are the names
Of men who once had gone
In friendship's name to offer aid
To Beirut, Lebanon.
They did not go as conquerors
To bring a nation down
Or for honor or for glory
Or for praises or renown.
When they landed on that foreign shore
Their only thought in mind
Was the safely of its people
And the good of all mankind.
Though they offered only friendship
And freedom's holy breath
They were met with scorn and mockery
And violence and death.
So the story of the glory
Is not of battles fought
But of their love for freedom
Which was to dearly bought.
And their Wall shall stand forever
So long as freedom shines
On the splendor and the glory
Of the Carolina pines.
R.A. Gannon