October 25, 1983: The Grenada Invasion

October 25, 1983: American troops and a coalition of 6 Caribbean nations invade the island nation of Grenada.

That country had gained independence from Britain in 1974, but the New Jewel Movement, a Communist group led by Maurice Bishop, seized power in 1979. By October 1983, there was a power struggle that led to the assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, and could have led to a civil war. Not that America was predisposed to like Bishop: He was a leftist, and an ally of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Bishop (left) and Castro

Bernard Coard took power, but he lasted just 5 days, from Bishop's execution on October 14 to 19, when he was deposed by General Hudson Austin, who formed a military dictatorship.

 

Hudson Austin

There were over 600 American citizens on the island, mostly medical students. President Ronald Reagan was afraid of another hostage crisis, less than 3 years after the end of the one in Iran. To make matters worse, on October 23, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon was attacked by a suicide bomber, killing 241 Americans.

His plan to invade Grenada, which he had discussed while at his ranch outside Santa Barbara, California, was deemed necessary, even if it ended up appearing that it was a distraction from the Beirut debacle.

Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, the American portion included the Army's famed 82nd Airborne Division, its 75th Ranger Regiment, and its Delta Force; Navy SEALs, and Marine units. Vice Admiral Joseph Metcalf III was the operation's commanding officer. Among his subcommanders was Major General Norman Schwarzkopf, later to rise to 4 stars and command American ground troops during the Persian Gulf War.

Admiral Joseph Metcalf

The operation was an overwhelming success: Within 4 days, the island was secured. But not a complete success: 19 American servicemen were killed, and another 152 wounded or injured. Still, it was seen as "a win for America," which Reagan needed, as he was up for re-election in a little over a year.

The following year, democratic elections were held in both America and Grenada. Today, Grenada is a free country, home to 112,000 people, 96 percent of them black, and 96 percent of them Christian. And it celebrates October 25 as its annual Thanksgiving Day.

Coard and Austin were sentenced to death, but their sentences were commuted to life. Austin was released from prison in 2008, and died on September 24, 2022. As of that date, Bernard Coard was still alive. He had been released in 2009, and said he did not want to be involved in politics any further. Admiral Metcalf died in 2007.

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October 25, 1983 was a Tuesday. This was also the day that Microsoft introduced Microsoft Word, which became the most popular word processing program ever. I have a separate entry for that event.

It was the middle of the week, so there were no football games. The baseball season had ended 9 days earlier, when the Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series. The NBA season began 3 days later. The NHL season had gotten underway, and 7 games were played that day:

* The New York Islanders were the only team in the New York Tri-State Area in action, and lost to the Winnipeg Jets, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 4-2 at the Colisee de Quebec.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 1-0 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins, 5-1 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Los Angeles Kings, 8-5 at The Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues, 7-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.