Doug Fuss '61/Ethan Hawkes '07 Evacuation from Beirut
July 17, 2006

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NOW_BOARDING AISLE_SEAT_PLEASE BUSINESS_CLASS HAPPY_LANDINGS TIME_TO_GO BEAUTIFUL_CYPRUS
Now Boarding Aisle Seat Please Business Class Happy Landings Time to Go Beautiful Cyprus
CORNELL_GUYS          
Cornell Guys

Doug's Comments:

"On Monday, July 17 I boarded a Marine helicopter at the US Embassy and was flown to Cyprus along with about 60 others, mostly US citizens.  I was among the first to leave and felt fortunate to have had such an easy departure.  Others had severe delays.  I never felt I was in personal danger although the sound of rockets exploding was a new experience.

 

Any personal problems for me were trivial.  From Cyprus I flew to Paris, met my wife, and we spent the next five weeks at our apartment before returning to Savannah.  I reflect on the situation in Lebanon with sadness.  One thousand Lebanese are dead, and for what?  There were not winners in this conflict, only losers.  From the beginning attack until the final cease-fire a continuing sequence of mistakes and bad judgments took place on both sides.  And now, how have things changed?  From my perspective, nothing has changed politically or militarily.  Only the country of Lebanon has been severely damaged."