39 years later: Northwoods Park Middle students come full circle with Beirut bombing survivors
Nearly 40 years after raising money for the original Beirut Memorial Grove in Jacksonville, students from Northwoods Park Middle School visited the memorial Tuesday morning to hear from survivors of the 1983 bombing.
Northwoods Park Middle School students are a big reason the Beirut Memorial Grove was created as Historian and Beirut Memorial Advisory Board Member Ron Bower told students that following the tragic bomb blast in Beirut that left 273 service members dead, a little girl decided she wanted to honor her neighbor with a tree.
After speaking with Northwoods Park Middle School Teacher Martha Warren about her idea, students began collecting funds for the memorial trees. When all was said and done, 273 trees were planted along Freedom Way in Jacksonville.
"You guys are going to be the future of the memory of what happened and it's important for you to know this," Bower said. "The need for education is very important. You need to learn the history of this thing ― why it happened, how it happened and make sure it never happens again. You can pass it on to your children and your grandchildren."
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Beirut survivor USMC Lance Corporal Jack Macdonald said the primary motivation for speaking to the students Tuesday morning was to bring the Beirut community back to the folks of Jacksonville and reintroduce themselves to the young adults who have taken care of them for the last 39 years.
The students also spent time this week marking the trees at the newer grove on U.S. 17 across from the entrance to Camp Geiger with yellow ribbons to welcome families and survivors for the upcoming anniversary.
"At approximately 6:22 on Sunday, Oct. 23, we were awoken by a very loud explosion," Macdonald said about the morning of the bombing. "At the time, we didn't know the extent of the explosion. We just thought it was another incoming round. Today, how grateful we are for the young people of Northwoods Middle School. We want to make sure that they understand that we appreciate how they brought our community back together by planting trees for us. We've been derelict in our duty for the last 39 years but we're back, we're here and we're going to support our youngsters, our young adults."
Macdonald said he wanted to keep it simple for the students but give them a little knowledge because it's important to remember the history, share it and keep it alive so that it's never repeated.
Students Quinn Deselms and Max Crandall said they were excited to learn about the memorial and find out why and how the bombing happened.
"It means a lot because first-hand knowledge is something that's hard to find so it's cool to hear that," Crandall said. "I think one of the main takeaways was to see the wall with all the names and how close it is because it's mainly from Jacksonville so it has a close place to us."
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In addition to the ribbons, another event honoring those lost in Beirut begins this morning.
Twenty members of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines began running 241 miles in shifts on a loop around the Lejeune Memorial Gardens to remember each of the Marines who lost their lives. They are expected to finish their run late Sunday morning prior to the annual Beirut observance.
The annual Beirut observance marking the 39th anniversary will take place on Sunday at 2 p.m., according to a news release from the city of Jacksonville.
USMC Retired General Al Gray, the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, is expected to attend and speak at the observance, the release added. General Gray was the commander of the 2nd Marine Division at the time of the Beirut Bombing and became part of the face of the response by the US Military and for the families of those lost.
The release said the event will air on the Jacksonville-Onslow Government channel G10TV on www.G10TV.org, on social media and through the Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN) via the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System at www.DVIDShub.net. In the event of inclement weather, the observance will take place inside City Hall.
Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Northwoods Park Middle comes full circle with Beirut bombing survivors
