On April 15, 1986, Libya fired two Scuds at the U.S. Coast Guard navigation station on the Italian island, in retaliation for the American bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi. However, the missiles passed over the island, landing in the sea, and caused no damage.
At the time of the missile attack, the LORAN station was under the command of Lt. Ernest DelBueno. DelBueno and his Coast Guard crew had spent the previous six months increasing their security preparedness including arming the crew and hardening the station's defenses. Expecting a traditional terrorist attack the American forces were surprised by a missile attack. American military commanders in Europe decided to temporarily evacuate non-essential crew to Sicily leaving behind a small security team under DelBueno's command. However the commander of the U.S. Navy transport helicopter from Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Four (HC-4) received orders from his chain of command to evacuate the entire American crew including DelBueno and his security team. DelBueno and his security crew returned the following morning, The confusion caused a rift with many of the island's residents including some of the Italian employees of the base. Several of the civilian employees including interpreter, Marco Bartolo, returned to work and performed their jobs in an exceptional manner. As a result of the missile attack, the U.S. Coast Guard improved communications equipment, built fences and developed procedures for missile attacks and threats.
