CINCINNATI — On Veterans Day, Saturday, November 11th, the Disabled American Veterans organization, or DAV, will host their annual 5K in Cincinnati.
We caught up with one Marine Corps veteran who is participating and making it his mission to make sure that lives lost are never forgotten…step by step.
“This is of our deployment as peacekeepers to Beirut, Lebanon in 1983,” said Donald Inns as he opened his Marine Corps scrapbook.
Inns is a National Service Office Supervisor for the DAV and works at their national headquarters in Kentucky.
He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps right after high school.
At 19 he arrived in Beirut as part of a peacekeeping force during the Lebanese Civil War.
However, it’s what happened during his deployment 40 years ago that makes looking through the scrapbook extremely difficult.
“In a heartbeat, 241 hearts stopped beating,” Inns said with tears in his eyes.
He was serving as a squad leader when a suicide bomber drove into a barracks housing U.S. peacekeeping forces.
He was shaving when he heard a loud snap followed by what he describes as a roar of thunder.
“The force of the blast knocked me off my feet. As I looked up, I saw a large black mushroom cloud,” he said.
From the blast, 241 American and 58 French service members lost their lives.
“It was the largest loss of Marine lives since WWII and the battle of Iwo Jima. It was the largest non-nuclear blast ever detonated on the face of the Earth,” Inns said.
That day he lost a close friend, 19 year old Lance Corporal Jeffrey Bruce Owen.
The two shared a love of service and camaraderie and a favorite memory of running in a 10K right before leaving for Beirut.
“I challenged him to a rematch, but it would have to wait until after our deployment to Beirut. Bruce beat me back from Beirut too…in a flag-draped coffin,” Inns said.
While he admits that his running days are behind him, Inns is looking forward to participating in the DAV’s 5K in honor of Owen and the 241 Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“What happened on December 7th, 1941 most would tell you Pearl Harbor. If you ask most Americans about 9/11, they will tell you exactly where they were. But if you ask about October 23, 1983…certainly the current events have captured all the emotions we went through 40 years ago,” he said.
Many Americans today can’t tell you where they were, what happened, or why.
Inns can’t forget and hopes others learn and remember.
One of his favorite places at work at the DAV is the Honor Garden out back.
“I can’t think of a more appropriate way to honor the lives lost 40 years ago in Beirut than to help the DAV because the DAV saved my life,” said Inns.
He quickly reached his goal of raising $241.
“I think I’ll feel at peace that morning of the DAV 5K because even though I’m walking by myself, I’m not walking alone,” Inns said.
For 5,000 meters, step by step, the hope is to open a new chapter through peace and remembrance.
The DAV is a nonprofit that helps more than 1 million veterans each year for free.
Veterans gain access to medical, financial, and educational benefits while being connected to employment opportunities.
The 5K kicks off at 9 a.m. at ‘The Banks’ in Cincinnati.