A decorated veteran from Kanawha County who survived a deadly attack in Beirut was laid to rest Aug. 5 with full military honors.

Retired Master Sgt. John Selbe, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 24 years as a combat engineer, was laid to rest in his hometown of Marmet at the Marmet cemetery in Kanawha County.

In 1983, Selbe was literally buried alive when a suicide bomber rammed a truck full of explosives into the Marine barracks he was in, killing 299 service personnel and six civilians. Rescue crews were able to find Selbe in time. He was one of the few to survive and received the Purple Heart from that tragedy.

It was the deadliest single-day attack against U.S. Marines since the battle over Iwo Jima in 1945.

The tragedy, however, didn’t stop him from being his best. He went on to receive numerous medals and retired honorably from the Marine Corps in 2001. Selbe passed away on July 8. He was 63.