An obligation to the fallen, the survivors and the families involved in the 1983 bombing in Beirut, Lebanon.

Tuesday, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Swansboro, Doolittle began a daily 12.5-mile walk in and around Jacksonville — and he will continue over the next 22 days, ending at Lejeune Memorial Gardens on Oct. 23. On that day, he will have walked more than 273 symbolic miles — one for each service member who died during the terrorist attacks in Beirut.

“These guys need to be remembered and I feel as though they are forgotten for the most part,” said Doolittle, 52, of Centennial, Colo. “In Jacksonville, it is well known, but even in the young part of the Marine Corps, there’s not a lot of people who remember what happened 30 years ago. And even fewer people know across America. It needs to be brought to people’s attention.”  [Link]