President Trump honored a survivor of the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut during his Veterans Day remarks Wednesday, invoking the terrorist attack as he defended his administration’s war against Iran.
Speaking at Virginia’s Arlington National Cemetery, Mr. Trump paid tribute to the 241 U.S. military personnel killed when a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden truck into the Marine barracks in Lebanon.
The Iranian government ordered, funded and directed the operation, which was carried out by Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group.
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Mr. Trump recounted the story of Dale Gardner, a Marine who survived the bombing but suffered severe injuries.
Mr. Gardner’s first memory after the attack was waking up in a hospital with “catastrophic head injuries and wounds, a collapsed lung, a broken back, torn-up legs, ruptured eardrums and horrific burns across his entire body and all over his face,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Gardner was the sole survivor in what was the deadliest day for the Marines since World War II.
“He joins us here to remember the 241 American service members murdered in the Beirut bombing,” Mr. Trump said.
“America did not start a war with Iran. Iran has been waging war on America since 1979,” the president continued. “Under this administration, we fought back.”
Mr. Trump is the third president to invoke the Beirut bombing during a Veterans Day observance.
President Ronald Reagan did so during his November 1983 radio address marking the holiday, less than two weeks after the terror attack.
President George W. Bush referenced the bombing in his 2003 Veterans Day remarks to mark the 30th anniversary of the attack and to justify the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, arguing that terrorists viewed the attack as evidence that America could be forced to retreat.
Mr. Trump declared that the U.S. has won the war, but “it’s just a question of when we want to end it.”
The Veterans Day remarks came against the backdrop of mounting criticism of the Iran war, which has become a political liability for the president following Republican losses in last week’s midterm elections.
Before addressing the crowd at Arlington’s Memorial Amphitheater, Mr. Trump participated in the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Veterans Day was established to honor and thank all living and deceased military veterans who have served in the armed forces.
It is observed annually on Nov. 11 to mark the 1918 armistice that ended World War I. The day was originally named Armistice Day in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson in honor of WWI veterans.
Congress changed the name to Veterans Day in 1954 to recognize all veterans.
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