The Undeclared War

SEPTEMBER 25, 1982

Two U.N. observers in Beirut are killed when their jeep strikes a land mine.

SEPTEMBER 30, 1982

A Marine is killed defusing a bomb near Beirut airport. He was part of the multinational force newly arrived in Lebanon.

APRIL 18, 1983

The U.S. embassy in Beirut is devastated when a flatbed truck loaded with 2,000 lbs. of explosives blows up, killing 17 Americans.

AUGUST 29, 1983

Two Marines die during a five-hour rocket and mortar barrage by Shi'ite militiamen.

SEPTEMBER 6, 1983

Artillery fire against the U.S. position kills two Marines.

OCTOBER 14-16, 1983

Two more Marines are killed by sniper fire.

OCTOBER 23, 1983

A suicide driver crashes an explosive-laden truck into the U.S. compound, killing 241 U.S. servicemen.

DECEMBER 4, 1983

Two Navy attack planes are shot down over Lebanon. One pilot is killed; Lieut. Robert Goodman is captured by Syrian forces (a month later, he is released). Later that day, nine Marines are fatally wounded during a heavy-artillery attack on their observation post near Beirut airport.

JANUARY 8, 1984

A Marine contingent takes fire after its helicopter lands near the U.S. embassy. One Marine is killed.

JANUARY 18, 1984

Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut, is assassinated as he steps off the elevator near his office in the university administration building. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.

JANUARY 30, 1984

Two Marines are fatally wounded during a fire fight with Shi'ite militiamen.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1984

The U.S. embassy annex in East Beirut is severely damaged by a car bomb; two Americans are killed.

JUNE 3, 1985

CIA Beirut station chief William Buckley, kidnaped March 16, 1984, dies in captivity. The body is never released. On Oct. 4, 1985, Islamic Jihad announce that it killed him.

JUNE 15, 1985

American Navy diver Robert Stethem is beaten and shot aboard hijacked TWA Flight 847, and his body is dumped on the tarmac at Beirut airport. Thirty- nine other American passengers and crew are held hostage for 17 days.

APRIL 17, 1986

American University librarian Peter Kilburn, who disappeared Dec. 3, 1984, is found shot to death along with two British hostages. A nearby note says they were killed in retaliation for the U.S. air attack on Libya three days earlier.