By Geoff Fox
On the morning of October 23, 1983, in Beirut, two suicide truck-bombs killed 241 U.S. military personnel and 58 French soldiers during a peacekeeping mission Lebanon.
Toby Nave’s grandfather was a Navy soldier stationed offshore when the bombings took place and was part of the mission to rescue wounded Marines or trapped by the explosions.
The Beirut Conflict, Nave said, was the largest loss of life in a single day for the Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 during World War II.
Nave wanted to ask town officials for permission to establish a memorial in Widmeyer Park near the park’s War Memorial.
His grandfather’s involvement was what inspired him to do the memorial project.
Nave is an aspiring Eagle Scout and said there aren’t many memorials to the Beirut Conflict due to it being overshadowed by the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s.
“We don’t really need a whole lot of funds, we just need approval for us to build it,” Nave said.
In a document to town officials, Nave said he plans to do fundraisers request donations for the project.
The memorial would be a bench and a placard, but Nave said he’d be open to whatever town officials would have in mind.
Town Manager Mike Faith said he had talked to secretary of the monument and said there it was fine.
Nave said he or members of his troop would be taking care of maintenance of the memorial such as basic mowing.
In a diagram provided to the Hancock News, the bench itself is six feet in length and two feet high, sitting on a 12 square foot by 12 square foot concrete slab.
There will also be a 12 foot long, four foot wide walkway leading to the bench.
Along the walkway, there will be 24 x 18 inch plaque stating “In honor and gratitude to the veterans of the October 23, 1983, Beirut Conflict. Eagle Project Toby Nave 2026 Troop 45.”
The bench would be composite wood or like material to withstand the weather.
Mayor Roland Lanehart asked the councilmembers if they would approve the memorial with each shook their head in agreement.
“Looks like it’s approved, young man,” Lanehart said.
Lanehart said there’d be a meeting with the people in charge of the War Monument to mark off the area where Nave would want to put his memorial.
As of Friday morning, September 18, the space had already been marked off with orange paint.
The mayor said Public Works would also be available to assist when Nave is ready to cut grass out of that area as well.
