Beirut Crisis 1958
In 1943, Lebanon became an independent country (formerly it was part of Syria). Lebanon was a unique country in the region: half Christian and half Muslim. By May 1957, mob violence erupted in Lebanon, fed by militants receiving weapons from Syria. In February, 1958, Egypt and Syria united to form the UAR (United Arab Republic). The President of Lebanon requested American military intervention.
U.S. President Eisenhower had a policy called the Eisenhower Doctrine that the U.S. could intervene in the Middle East if a country was being threatened by armed aggression. So, in July, 1958, Eisenhower sent the U.S. Army and the Marines to Lebanon.
The intervention was called Operation Blue Bat. The mission of the Army and Marines was to occupy and secure Beirut International Airport, and then to secure the port of Beirut and the approaches to the city.
The photos in this post are from the LIFE photo archive, taken by LIFE photographer Paul Schutzer in July 1958. The show a group of Marines landing equipment on a beach. These photographs were not published in LIFE magazine.
After landing their equipment, the Marines found themselves on the beach with nothing more to do, so they began playing in the sand and the water. Most of them kept on their shorts, but a couple of them saw no need to do that ...
like this guy helping his buddy get buried in the sand.
Here are a bunch of Marines playing in the waves. They have their shorts on, but I noticed ...
one of them had something sticking out of his shorts.
The Lebanon crisis was resolved diplomatically. Both sides reached a compromise by electing the moderate Christian general Fouad Chehab as President, and Muslim prime minister Rashid Karami formed a national reconciliation government.
6 comments:
Even though these photos were never actually published, I imagine LIFE photographer Paul Schutzer had quite an impressive private collection of full-nude marines.
At least they had some time to frolic.
By coincidence, today is the 5 year anniversary of the Beirut Blast. Was today intentionally chosen for this?
I'm glad they didn't have to be there for very long.
@Anon - No, that was not intentional; it is a coincidence.
A frolic for Marines in 1958 in Lebanon, not so much for Marines in 1983 in Lebanon :(
So much for so called doctrines.
The intervention in 1958 just forestalled more severe troubles to come, culminating in the Civil War in Lebanon and the further incursions and occupations by Israel and Syria and their proxies. Of course Israel and Syria are proxies too in all that death and destruction. Americans and Russians must be proud of themselves, all those innocent dead people, and the Mid East still a cauldron of death and destruction that beckons for more blood of the innocent. You can taste the blood in your mouth, at least you should if you have a conscience .
-Rj
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