In another life, I was a Tech Sgt. assigned to the 1st Combat Communictions Group, then located at Lindsey Air Station in Wiesbaden Germany. That's were I was on April 18th, 1983 when the American Embassy in Beruit was bombed by the Islamic Jihad, killing 63 people including 17 Americans.
Although I was in Germany, others in my unit were a little closer to the action.
A four-man team from the 1st had been at the Embassy since December, supplying secure voice communications to the Ambassador and his team of negotiators. The wheels of diplomacy turn slowly if at all. Then one day, chaos.
Ambassador Robert Dillon described how Airmann Hamann, who was on radio watch at the time of the explosion, was behind a panel of bullet proof glass when the estimated 1,500 pounds of explosives was detonated. "The glass was totally shattered, radios were blown into his chest, an air conditioner was blown out of the wall in front of him, his glasses were broken and blown off his face, and he was thrown to the floor. He received numerous facial cuts and a severe cut to the right hand."
The report also stated that Airman Hamann, whose eyesight was impaired due to the broken glass, disregarded his injuries while packing up a radio and evacuating the building. He searched Ambassador Dillon's office and found Louise Tennant, the ambassador's secretary, lying under the rubble suffering from shock and unable to see due to facial gashes. The airman led her through secondary explosions to medical people.
Once outside, Airman Hamann teamed up with Sgt. Hugh Hill and A1C Gregory Hightower, also from the 1st. Sergeant Hill and Airman Hightower sought medical help for Airman Hamann and then set to the task of re-establishing communication.
Sergeant Hill climbed to the top of the bombed-out embassy and fixed an antenna damaged in the blast. After working his way back down, Sergeant Hill and Airman Hightower became the first people to communicate the specifics of the disaster through official channels.