Flashback: Lebanon vs Israel
June 21, 2009
View of Beirut, Lebanon from the ship.
The 2006 Lebanon War, known as the July War, was my first exposure physical warfare. Hizballah paramilitary and Israeli military had engaged over their border and the bombing in the area had become a great threat to Americans living/traveling in the region. The USS Iwo Jima was pulled away from training with the Jordanians to be the American presence off of the coast of Beirut, Lebanon as the U.S. citizens were evacuated to safety.
What surprised me was that you could tell what a beautiful, Mediterranean city Beirut was. Thousands of beautiful little houses covered the nearby mountain and continued off into the distance. The classic look became a memory, however, as building after building was bombed. Soon a cloud of dust had engulfed the city, leaving it with a bleak look.
Although I was unable to capture the bombing on film, watching the conflict from the hanger bay of the ship just boggled my mind. In the past, I had only seen this kind of situation on the news. I could not believe that I was again able to be a part of something historical and meaningful. We were assigned to the area for a little over a month before departing and heading back through the Suez Canal toward Kuwait.
