Marines returned to Beirut during the 1982 Lebanon War on 24 August with the arrival of the 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit ( later redesignated as 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit ) and the Multinational Force in Lebanon ( MNF ) . As part of a peace treaty , the Palestine Liberation Organization was withdrawn to Tunisia , and the Marines returned to their ships . Due to increased violence from the still-ongoing Lebanese Civil War , President Ronald Reagan ordered the Marines to return on 29 September in the form of 2nd Battalion 8th Marines . Relieved by 3rd Battalion 8th Marines in October , the MNF increasingly drew fire from different factions . The United States embassy was bombed on 18 April 1983 in opposition to the MNF 's presence ; 1st Battalion 8th Marines was rotated in under the command of the 24th MAU . On 23 October 1983 , the Marine barracks in Beirut was bombed , causing the highest peacetime losses to the Corps in its history : 220 Marines , 18 sailors , and three soldiers , as well as 55 French Paratroopers of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 3 French Paratroopers of the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment in a near-simultaneous bombing away . As violence increased , public pressure mounted to withdraw forces from Lebanon . After an additional 24 American deaths , the Marines were ordered to leave and began on 7 February 1984 , and finished on the 26th
increased violence
Sabra and Shatila massacre
History of the United States Marine Corps