21 July 2006
From the Beirut beachhead:
We flew into Beirut in three C-53 Sea Stallions this
morning...flying low and fast over the Med from the Royal Air
Force base in Cyprus, I was one of 9 reporters invited to cover
the evacuation of American citizens...by 0815 I was sitting just
forward of a Marine manning a .50 cal machine gun...
The scene inside of the American perimeter bordered between
chaotic and pathetic. As American citizens arrived at the 'secure
zone,', they were shunted into a line 4-persons wide by maybe
300 yards long that grew longer by the minute. Children clung
mutely to their parents, babies cried, and parents quizzed the
Marines standing security about what might happen next.
BrigGen Carl Jensen, the Marine tasked to lead the evacuation,
walked the lines, talking to the crowd, and giving out bottles of
water "we're here to get you out", he said repeatedly, "we'll be
here as long as necessary..." his quiet, yet authoritative manner,
added to the Eagle-Globe-Anchor on his fatigue cap, calmed the
crowd. "The Marines have come to get us out," I heard spreading
through the lines, and the fidgeting and pushing came to a halt.
Carrying suitcases, clutching their children, and with husbands
and wives holding hands, groups of 350 Americans marched
over 600 yards of stony ground to the beach and the safety of
the American landing craft.
But they didn't march alone. I filmed Marines walking with them;
carrying babies while holding mom's hand...Marines carrying
suitcases, strollers, pushing elderly Americans in wheelchairs...
and as the bow door of the LCU dropped into the sand, the
young Navy sailors swarmed off and began helping the their
fellow Americans through the surf and up onto the LCU.
The LCU was so overloaded that she needed a bulldozer to push
her off the beach, but when this was done, the sailors spun her
around, and made a run to the mothership, the USS Trenton...by
the end of the day, the USS Trenton sailed to Cyprus with 1900
very relieved American men, women, and children.
We weren't back in the States quite yet, but when surrounded by
such a band of Marines and sailors, we all knew we were safe
