EP 63: What They Don’t Tell You About Surviving Beirut as a Marine Scout Sniper
ASK A VET PODCAST
7,343 views
On October 23, 1983, at 6:22 in the morning, a truck bomb destroyed the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Marine Scout Sniper Frank Roberts was 400 yards away, sleeping in the dirt near Charlie Company. The blast threw him into a wall. When he came to, the four-story building was gone.
Frank was 20 years old. He had come up through amphibious recon school and Scout Sniper School, where he learned from the legendary Carlos Hathcock, and was sent to Beirut with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines on what was called a peacekeeping mission. In this episode of Ask A Vet, he tells us what it really was: restrictive rules of engagement, constant shelling, sniper duels, and, after the bombing, more than a week cut off with no resupply and their chain of command gone.
Frank also shares what came after: training the next generation of snipers, undercover narcotics work in New Haven, a contract on his life during the largest RICO case in Connecticut history, and the oyster farm in South Carolina where he found his way home.
IN MEMORY: This episode is dedicated to the 241 American service members, 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers, killed in Beirut on October 23, 1983, to the 58 French paratroopers lost the same morning, and to every Marine and sailor who served there.
CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode contains graphic descriptions of combat, the aftermath of the bombing, severe injuries, PTSD, and strong language. Veterans in crisis: call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:36 The man with two birth certificates
01:01 Growing up in a Marine family
02:20 The first enlisted man in the family
04:31 Parris Island
05:36 Eight months at sea on the USS Nassau
07:47 Selected for Scout Sniper
08:18 Amphibious Recon School, Little Creek
10:28 Scout Sniper School and Carlos Hathcock
12:04 The M40A1 and two-man teams
14:27 Learning to stalk
16:11 Orders to Beirut
18:36 Patrolling the rubble
19:44 Rules of engagement: one round at a time
22:18 First sniper mission
25:49 Humping through Beirut
27:32 Ambushed in a ditch
31:17 The man with the white handkerchief
35:47 Letters home
36:52 Warning signs and the tank that was moved
37:58 The morning of the bombing
41:03 "It was gone"
42:43 241 lost
44:17 Cut off: no ammo, no food, no water
46:15 Help turned away
47:47 The plane he refused to board
50:24 33 days of shelling
51:03 A prayer under fire
53:20 Abandoned: "What's to become of us?"
55:35 Twelve men step forward
57:55 Coming home
1:00:05 Rebuilding as a sniper instructor
1:01:14 Delta Force and a CIA offer
1:02:16 New Haven Police: undercover narcotics
1:05:39 The raid on West Street
1:08:18 No fear left
1:09:01 The Latin Kings and the FBI
1:11:07 A contract on his life
1:13:35 On the witness stand
1:17:43 The truth about the bomb
1:19:10 Becoming an oyster farmer
1:24:03 The bond with his brothers
1:27:25 Nightmares, healing, and the VA
1:30:10 Closing
🎖️ SUBSCRIBE for new veteran interviews every week.
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UvdMjk...
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Read the blog: https://curioushumanography.com/
Follow us: Instagram: curioushumanography
If you're a veteran with a story to tell, or you know someone who should be on the show, reach out at humanographyproject@gmail.com
#AskAVet #Beirut1983 #MarineCorps #ScoutSniper #BeirutBarracks #VeteranStories #USMC #militaryhistory
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EP 63: What They Don’t Tell You About Surviving Beirut as a Marine Scout Sniper
ASK A VET PODCAST
7,343 views
On October 23, 1983, at 6:22 in the morning, a truck bomb destroyed the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Marine Scout Sniper Frank Roberts was 400 yards away, sleeping in the dirt near Charlie Company. The blast threw him into a wall. When he came to, the four-story building was gone.
Frank was 20 years old. He had come up through amphibious recon school and Scout Sniper School, where he learned from the legendary Carlos Hathcock, and was sent to Beirut with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines on what was called a peacekeeping mission. In this episode of Ask A Vet, he tells us what it really was: restrictive rules of engagement, constant shelling, sniper duels, and, after the bombing, more than a week cut off with no resupply and their chain of command gone.
Frank also shares what came after: training the next generation of snipers, undercover narcotics work in New Haven, a contract on his life during the largest RICO case in Connecticut history, and the oyster farm in South Carolina where he found his way home.
IN MEMORY: This episode is dedicated to the 241 American service members, 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers, killed in Beirut on October 23, 1983, to the 58 French paratroopers lost the same morning, and to every Marine and sailor who served there.
CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode contains graphic descriptions of combat, the aftermath of the bombing, severe injuries, PTSD, and strong language. Veterans in crisis: call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:36 The man with two birth certificates
01:01 Growing up in a Marine family
02:20 The first enlisted man in the family
04:31 Parris Island
05:36 Eight months at sea on the USS Nassau
07:47 Selected for Scout Sniper
08:18 Amphibious Recon School, Little Creek
10:28 Scout Sniper School and Carlos Hathcock
12:04 The M40A1 and two-man teams
14:27 Learning to stalk
16:11 Orders to Beirut
18:36 Patrolling the rubble
19:44 Rules of engagement: one round at a time
22:18 First sniper mission
25:49 Humping through Beirut
27:32 Ambushed in a ditch
31:17 The man with the white handkerchief
35:47 Letters home
36:52 Warning signs and the tank that was moved
37:58 The morning of the bombing
41:03 "It was gone"
42:43 241 lost
44:17 Cut off: no ammo, no food, no water
46:15 Help turned away
47:47 The plane he refused to board
50:24 33 days of shelling
51:03 A prayer under fire
53:20 Abandoned: "What's to become of us?"
55:35 Twelve men step forward
57:55 Coming home
1:00:05 Rebuilding as a sniper instructor
1:01:14 Delta Force and a CIA offer
1:02:16 New Haven Police: undercover narcotics
1:05:39 The raid on West Street
1:08:18 No fear left
1:09:01 The Latin Kings and the FBI
1:11:07 A contract on his life
1:13:35 On the witness stand
1:17:43 The truth about the bomb
1:19:10 Becoming an oyster farmer
1:24:03 The bond with his brothers
1:27:25 Nightmares, healing, and the VA
1:30:10 Closing
🎖️ SUBSCRIBE for new veteran interviews every week.
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UvdMjk...
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Read the blog: https://curioushumanography.com/
Follow us: Instagram: curioushumanography
If you're a veteran with a story to tell, or you know someone who should be on the show, reach out at humanographyproject@gmail.com
#AskAVet #Beirut1983 #MarineCorps #ScoutSniper #BeirutBarracks #VeteranStories #USMC #militaryhistory
To the 241 Americans we lost in Beirut on October 23, 1983, and to every Marine and sailor who served there: we remember.
If Frank's story meant something to you, leave a comment for him below.