NCDOT, Jacksonville to improve Marine memorial

JACKSONVILLE, NC (AP) — The N.C. Department of Transportation and the City of Jacksonville are working together to improve the Beirut Memorial Grove.

Last October, NCDOT planted a tree for each service member who died when terrorists bombed the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 23, 1983.

The decision to create the grove was made in cooperation with city, but some of the trees didn’t survive the local environment. That prompted NCDOT to exchange the trees for a different type. The trees comprising the grove, located at the intersection of U.S. 17 South and N.C. 24, will be removed within the next few days and replaced by new, heartier trees that will last longer.

The Beirut Memorial Grove replaces the Lejeune Boulevard trees planted in 1983.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)