County and other officials break ground on the Beirut Peacekeepers Memorial Tower, which is expected to be completed in about a year, at an estimated cost of $4 million. It is being paid for by the William R. Gaines Jr. Veterans Memorial Fund.
Thurnell "Chip" Shields was injured when the barracks collapsed, pinning him under a column and beam. After a career serving with the Marines, Shields then embarked on a more than two-decade career as a first responder in Hillsborough County.
Phil Schantz, 86, was stationed in the Marine Corps as a sergeant in the Beirut Peacekeepers building in 1958. He was recognized during the ceremony by Judith Young, whose son Jeffrey died when the Beirut building was bombed in 1983.
New Jersey resident Judith Young tells the crowd about her son Jeffrey, a Recon Marine who was killed in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983. She is the past president of the American Gold Star Mother's and the chairman of the Gold Star Mothers National Monument Foundation for mothers who lost sons or daughters in service of the United States Armed Forces.
Al Ainscoe, a Marine who served in Beirut, takes a photo of the WarBirds flyover Wednesday during the Beirut Peacekeepers Memorial Tower groundbreaking ceremony.
Jordis Hart, 7, an Atwater Elementary School student, leads the pledge at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Thurnell “Chip” Shields is a 37-year Marine who survived the Beirut bombing on Oct 23, 1983. He said serving in the military is a real sacrifice and war is real.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office kicked off the ceremony Wednesday with a helicopter flyover.
From left, Thurnell “Chip” Shields, Renard Manley, and Rev. Kevin Shaw were Marines in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983.
County and other officials break ground on the Beirut Peacekeepers Memorial Tower, which is expected to be completed in about a year, at an estimated cost of $4 million. It is being paid for by the William R. Gaines Jr. Veterans Memorial Fund.
Due to high winds on March 15, midway through the ceremony the banner depicting the tower’s image, blew down.
Thurnell "Chip" Shields was injured when the barracks collapsed, pinning him under a column and beam. After a career serving with the Marines, Shields then embarked on a more than two-decade career as a first responder in Hillsborough County.
The T-28 Trojans (Warbirds) were one of three flyovers at the ceremony.
Member of the Charlotte High School Silver King Marching Band play Wednesday at the Beirut Peacekeepers Memorial Tower groundbreaking.
Phil Schantz, 86, was stationed in the Marine Corps as a sergeant in the Beirut Peacekeepers building in 1958. He was recognized during the ceremony by Judith Young, whose son Jeffrey died when the Beirut building was bombed in 1983.
New Jersey resident Judith Young tells the crowd about her son Jeffrey, a Recon Marine who was killed in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983. She is the past president of the American Gold Star Mother's and the chairman of the Gold Star Mothers National Monument Foundation for mothers who lost sons or daughters in service of the United States Armed Forces.
Veterans had the chance to throw some dirt during the Beirut Peacekeepers Memorial Tower groundbreaking. Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen R. Deutsch, who chairs the committee with 21 others, stood with each group.
Members of William R. Gaines Jr. family threw some dirt at the groundbreaking for the new memorial tower at the park named after Gaines who died when the building was bombed Oct. 23, 1983.
PORT CHARLOTTE — The mood was somber Wednesday as more than 1,000 gathered at the William R. Gaines Jr. Veterans Memorial Park for the groundbreaking of the Beirut Peacekeepers Memorial Tower.
Once complete in about a year, the 3-story tower will stand 45 feet tall with 241 rods — one for each of the 241 lives lost on Oct. 23, 1983, when a suicide bomber drove a truck into the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.
The park is named after the Charlotte County High School graduate and Marine who was killed along with 240 others in the terrorist attack.
James Breckenridge, who was among the speakers, was an Army field artillery captain working with the Marines in Beirut in 1983.
“This launched a new era in America,” he said, adding that the War on Terror “didn’t begin on September 11, 2001 but on October 23, 1983.”
One of the Marines in the barracks that day who did survive was Chip Shields.
To a hushed crowd, he talked about what he witnessed.
Shields told of being pinned under a beam and column after a large truck laden with explosives crashed into the barracks.
The driver was “hell bent on destruction and death,” Shields said.
Later, at an airport awaiting transport, he recalled seeing “the hangar filled with bodies as far as I could see. These were my brothers.”
The Rev. Kevin B. Shaw, who gave the benediction, grew emotional when he talked about what he witnessed.
He was in a tent across from the barracks and heard the explosion, which shook the ground.
Telling his commanding officers they had to help, Shaw discovered he had lost some of his platoon.
“This is really hard for us,” he said. “It brings back memories.”
Also sharing stories were Judith Young, chair of Gold Star Mothers National Monument Foundation, who came down from her home in New Jersey to take part in the ceremony.
She lost her son in Beirut.
“The first duty is to remember,” Young said, noting that the day was the largest single loss of life for the Marine Corps since Iwo Jima.
Congressman Greg Pence, brother of former vice president Mike Pence, as well as a Marine in 1983, was unable to attend because his plane had mechanical problems.
On hand at the service was William Gaines’ brother, Michael, who started the nonprofit foundation in his brother’s memory. The foundation will pay for the $4 million tower.
Michael Gaines read a statement from Pence about the event.
Retired Major Gen. James S. Hartsell also spoke and provided history on the event.
At the conclusion of the service, which included three flyovers from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a Warbirds flyover in T-28 Trojans, and a KC-135 6th Air Refueling Wing from MacDill Air Force Base, the groundbreaking commenced.
Row after row of government officials, former Marines, other military personnel, and related groups took turns picking up shovels to symbolize the start of construction.
In addition to American service members, the tower will memorialize the 58 French paratroopers who were killed in a second suicide attack in another part of Beirut.
Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen R. Deutsch, who serves on the memorial fund board, had been working to bring the memorial tower and enhancements at the park for about seven years.
The county and state, in cooperation with the Gaines memorial fund and the Military Heritage Museum, worked together in putting on the event.
Email: nancy.semon@yoursun.com
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Thank you.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Ends: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
Post a comment as anonymous
Report
Watch this discussion.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.