DIED FROM INJURIES RECEIVED DURING

BOMBING OF MARINE BARRACKS IN BEIRUT, LEBANON

At the request of the Lebanese Government during the Lebanese Civil War, a contingent of U.S. Marines were stationed in Beirut as members of the Multinational Force.  On October 23, 1983 suicide bombers detonated a truck carrying explosives with an estimated equivalent of 21,000 pounds of TNT inside the courtyard of the building housing the Marines.  The four-story building was totally destroyed, killing 241 American servicemen including 220 Marines and 18 Navy personnel.  This was the deadliest single-day death toll for the Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

SSGT John Walter Hendrickson was sitting on his bunk lacing up his boots when the bomb exploded.  He was knocked unconscious for an unknown amount of time and when he regained consciousness he had to push pieces of concrete and rock off his body, and then rummage through the rubble to pull out a fellow Marine.  Unfortunately, SSGT Hendrickson was struck on the head during the explosion resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder, memory loss and balance and coordination problems when he tried to walk.  Migraine headaches and seizures became regular for him and the explosion exacerbated the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a disease that would not be diagnosed until years later when a knee surgery brought it to light.  Hospitalized due to his severe injuries, he was unable to completely care for himself.

For the next seven years SSGT Hendrickson endured pain as he regularly lived at home and required help with the normal activities of eating, drinking, and moving about.  He found it necessary to use a wheelchair but kept his spirits up and called himself “hell on wheels.”  As hospitalization became more frequent he was transformed from a dedicated, hard-driven Marine to a bed-ridden, dependent person filled with shame, disappointments, and fear.  SSGT Hendrickson finally succumbed to his injuries on April 13, 1990 in Jacksonville, North Carolina.  Following his death his wife said that to the end he loved nothing more than being a Marine, took pride in his beliefs, his country, his family, and his God.  Although SSGT Hendrickson was unable to return to active service because of his injuries, he remained listed on active duty until his death.  His wife tried to persuade the Marine Corps to posthumously award her husband Purple Heart, but to no avail.  She said, “I never wanted this award for any other reason than my husband earned it and died for it.  Both of his sons have served and are serving to defend and uphold all that their father believed in.”  One of his sons said that despite his father’s injuries, the constant hospital visits and the limited control he had over his life after the bombing, he was certain his father would go through it all again for his country, that he was always there to take care of the men below him and protect the country he loved.

SSGT John Walter Hendrickson has been laid to final rest at New Bern National Cemetery in New Bern, North Carolina, where his grave marker carries the inscription:  SSGT  -  US MARINE CORPS  -  VIETNAM  -  BEIRUT.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)