October 25, 1983
Beyond Vassar
In response to a Marxist coup that allegedly threatened American citizens, President Ronald Reagan authorized “Operation Urgent Fury,” an invasion by United States troops of the Caribbean island nation of Grenada, part of the British Commonwealth after gaining its independence in 1974. The President cited the presence of some 1,000 American medical students near the island’s airport and the close proximity of Soviet-supplied Cuba as particular concerns.
Several countries, including Great Britain, protested the invasion.