The planes began flying over Grenada at dawn, their low rumble awakening people in the tiny Caribbean island where a military government had seized power days before and executed the prime minister.
More than 7,000 US Marines and army paratroopers invaded the island to the cheers of Grenadians, who commemorate the 1983 action with a national holiday known as “Thanksgiving Day.”
About 100 people in all died during the operation dubbed “Urgent Fury.”
Dozens of US veterans, Grenadians and former US students evacuated from Grenada’s medical school during the operation gathered on Friday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the most popular foreign invasions in recent history and what was then the largest US military operation since the Vietnam War.
“The US stemmed the flow of blood, for which we are eternally grateful,” said Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell as he spoke at a Thanksgiving Day church service. “It is because of that we can enjoy democratic principles, which we sometimes take for granted.”
Months before the operation, then-US president Ronald Reagan had complained about Soviet-Cuban militarization of the Caribbean and expressed worries that a new Cuban-backed 3,000m runway in Grenada would be used by Soviet military planes.
Then on Oct. 19, 1983, then-Grenadian prime minister Maurice Bishop, three members of his Cabinet and four others were executed by a radical faction of his Cuba-backed party on orders of then-Grenadian deputy prime minister Bernard Coard.
Six days later, Reagan sent in US troops, helped by a few hundred Caribbean security forces.
Reagan said the invasion was necessary to protect the lives of the more than 600 US students at St George’s University School of Medicine, but the UN and countries including Britain and Canada accused the US of violating international law.
The reasons for the invasion were groundless, said Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco.
“The coup gave us the excuse, and because the people of the island where so shell-shocked and outraged at what had been done, they welcomed in large part the US invasion that they would have probably fought off had it taken place while Bishop was still in power,” he said.
Zunes said the Reagan administration had been trying to undermine Bishop’s regime, and said the invasion molded Grenada’s political and economic future, turning it from socialism to more capitalist lines.
Charles Modica, the medical university’s chancellor at the time, said he had polled students and found that about 90 percent did not want to be evacuated.
“I had a very negative reaction,” he said of the invasion.
However, his opinion softened when he saw how people responded.
“Thanksgiving Day here is more meaningful than you’ll ever know. You have to be here to recognize how important it is to people,” he said.
In the first few hours of the invasion, dozens of military personnel jumped out of planes with instructions to evacuate students.
“We weren’t supposed to be on the island any more than a few hours,” retired US army sergeant major Scott Breasseale said. “But we all know things don’t go how they’re supposed to once the first gun is fired or if intelligence changes.”
Robert Jordan, senior associate dean of basic sciences, had climbed to the roof of a house to watch the aircraft come in.
“I thought it was some sort of exercise,” he said. “It’s like being in a very large 3D theater ... I watched a Cobra helicopter get shot down. That’s when I realized this was really real.”
Jordan and about 30 students took cover in the two-bedroom apartment of Assistant Dean C.V. Rao and placed mattresses around the sliding doors as the fighting continued.
“There was apprehension... You don’t know what was happening,” Jordan said. “We also made it into a small party. We had some rum left. It was like a hurricane party.”
He and Rao convinced a school worker to find a bus and take students to the university, where they awaited US forces.
“Everyone was lying on the floor, face down. Then the helicopters arrived with US Marines,” Rao said. “They opened the doors and said: ‘We are the rescue mission.”’
Breasseale said the highlight of the invasion for him was watching students board the helicopters.
“I saw how happy they were and the hugs they were giving each other,” he said. “I felt so much pride.”
The worst for Breasseale came on the third day of the invasion: He was in one of four helicopters leading the pack, and three crashed behind him as they landed, killing everyone.
“We flew into a very harsh situation,” he said. “There was some enemy fire, some pilot error, some tactical decisions that were probably not the best ... It’s something I’m going to carry for the rest of my life.”
Breasseale said he planned to visit the place where the fatal crashes occurred.
It was his first time back in Grenada since the invasion, and he wanted to pay tribute to those who died.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was