In one of the smallest proxies of the Cold War, the United States, with the support of troops from other Caribbean governments, invaded the island nation of Grenada to depose its military dictator and secure the evacuation of American students in the country. Grenada had gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1974 and experienced civil unrest until Maurice Bishop’s New Jewel Movement overthrew the government in 1979. The Bishop government attracted attention from U.S. government officials in the summer of 1983 when it began constructing the Point Salines International Airport with assistance from Cuba, Britain, and others. Although it was originally conceived by the British and Canadians in the 1950s, the U.S. suspected the large airport was being built for the use of the Soviet and Cuban military.
On October 16, 1983, Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard led his military-backed rival faction in seizing power from the Bishop government. Hudson Austin, the military leader, murdered Bishop and many of his supporters. The leaders of Barbados, Jamaica, and the members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States expressed alarm at the crisis and sought American assistance. The U.S. was also concerned with the of 1,000 American medical students at St. George’s University, who were unable to evacuate Grenada. A joint force of U.S. and the Caribbean Regional Security System troops invaded the island on October 25 in Operation Urgent Fury. The Grenada invasion would be the first U.S. military operation since the Vietnam war
After President Reagan gave the go-ahead, military leaders quickly prepared an invasion plan. 7,600 American troops from the Army Rapid Deployment Force, the 82nd Airborne Division, the Marines, Army Delta Force, and Navy SEALs, along with troops from Jamaica and the Regional Security System members launched an airborne assault on Point Salines Airport and an amphibious landing at Pearl’s Airfield. The Grenadian and Cuban troops were defeated after several days of fighting..
