Veterans' Memorial Project

William Scott Sommerhof

Springfield, IL

Lebanon

College: Liberal Arts & Sciences

Graduation Year: 1980

Service Branch: Marines

Rank: First Lieutenant

Date of Birth: 01/13/1958

Date of Death: 10/23/1983

Buried at Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield, IL in Plot: R 7 6 763. History of conflict: In 1982 at the request of the Lebanese government, the United States established a peacekeeping force between Muslims and Christians in Beirut. The Muslim forces however viewed the soldiers as their enemies and frequently attacked them with artillery and mortar. On October 23, 1983, a large Islamic Jihad truck loaded with 2,500 pounds of TNT crashed through the main gate of the U.S. Marine Headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon killing 241 USA Army, Marine and Navy servicemen and wounding 81. Two minutes later another Islamic Jihad truck packed with explosives crashed into a French base two miles away killing 58 soldiers.

Further information: https://www.uiaa.org/urbana/veterans/mugs/540.pdf

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