42 years ago today, on October 25, 1983 (September 20, 1983 in the lunar calendar), 216 US soldiers and soldiers died in the Beirut bombing. A truck loaded with 5000 pounds of explosives broke through the circular fence and broke into the battalion headquarters, killing 260 soldiers. On October 25, 1983, U.S. Navy Commander-in-Chief Paul Kelly arrived in Beirut to investigate the attack on the Naval Command. Rescuers have pulled 216 dead bodies from blackened metal and cement at the airport complex. There are probably more than 30 bodies still in the rubble. New questions were raised about the security of the Command and the Reagan administration's involvement in weak and unstable Lebanon politics. This operation was the work of a committed terrorist. He drove a Mercedes truck loaded with at least 2500 pounds of explosives, passed through checkpoints and roadblocks set up at the headquarters, and crashed into the building. The building was destroyed in a fire. The four-story building immediately turned into a pile of burning gravel. A Navy spokesman said: "I have never seen such a mass killing outside of Vietnam." All tall buildings in Beirut trembled during the explosion. Two minutes after the attack, another truck filled with explosives stormed the French peacekeeping force compound, killing 58 people. An operator at the French Press Agency said: The explosion was carried out by a so-called Liberal Islamic Revolutionary Movement. White House officials say those blamed should be terrorists with ties to Iran. The two suicide missions were similar to the April attack on the U.S. Embassy that killed 63 people. A Navy spokesman said no special defensive measures had been taken against the headquarters after the attack on the U.S. Embassy. Reagan's congressional critics said: The role of the Marines in Beirut was not clearly defined. Minority leader Senator Robert Bird accused Reagan of making a fundamentally wrong assessment of foreign policy. The president sent 300 people to Beirut to replace the dead and injured peacekeepers. Reagan said: "Persisting in retaining the Marines in Beirut is crucial to maintaining our reputation around the world. A truck loaded with 5000 pounds of explosives smashed through a circular fence and broke into the battalion headquarters. 260 soldiers were killed. Rescuers walked out of the rubble carrying a bloody little girl. She was seriously injured and stopped breathing 12 minutes later. Check the scene of the destruction in Beirut looking for survivors