1st Battalion, 8th Marines (1/8) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The battalion consists of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors and is nicknamed "The Beirut Battalion." They fall under the command of the 8th Marine Regiment and the 2nd Marine Division. The battalion is probably best known as the unit that was the victim of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing in Lebanon. A total of 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers lost their lives that day and the majority of them were from 1/8.