USMC 1st Battalion 8th Marines Patch — Embroidered Patch The Beirut Battalion — 1st Battalion, 8th Marines 1/8 carries one of the heaviest titles in the Marine Corps — "The Beirut Battalion." On 23 October 1983, a truck bomb destroyed the 1/8 barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 American servicemembers. This patch honors every Marine who has worn the 1/8 patch before and after that defining tragedy — a battalion that turned grief into resolve and never stopped fighting. 1st Battalion, 8th Marines is based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, under the 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Activated on 1 April 1940 in San Diego, 1/8 fought through some of the Pacific War's bloodiest battles — Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa. At Tarawa in November 1943, Marines waded through chest-deep water under withering Japanese fire to assault the heavily fortified island of Betio in 76 hours of brutal close-quarters combat. During the Cold War, 1/8 deployed to Lebanon in 1958, stood ready during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and intervened in the Dominican Republic in 1965. The 1983 Beirut bombing defined the battalion's identity, but 1/8 responded by becoming one of the most deployed battalions in the post-9/11 era, serving multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perfect For: 1/8 Marines past and present, 8th Marines regiment personnel, 2nd MARDIV veterans, Camp Lejeune Marines, Beirut bombing survivors and families, and anyone who remembers October 23, 1983. The Beirut Battalion — never forget, never stop fighting.
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