USS Intrepid (1798) - Aftermath

Aftermath

The remains of the 13 sailors on the ship washed ashore the next day after the explosion and were dragged through the street by angry locals. The bodies were buried in an unmarked mass grave outside Tripoli. In 1949, the Libyan government unearthed the remains and moved them to the current cemetery. Since then, the Libyan government has maintained the grave site, although sometimes has allowed maintenance of the site to deteriorate. On December 17, 2011, US defense chief Leon Panetta visited the cemetery in Tripoli and placed a wreath at the grave site. The US currently has no plans to repatriate the remains to the US.