{"id":3881,"date":"2017-12-09T01:18:41","date_gmt":"2017-12-09T01:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/?p=3881"},"modified":"2018-01-15T14:55:47","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T14:55:47","slug":"the-scrutiny-and-importance-of-the-invasion-of-grenada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/2017\/12\/09\/the-scrutiny-and-importance-of-the-invasion-of-grenada\/","title":{"rendered":"The Scrutiny and Importance of the Invasion of Grenada"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vincent Warzecha<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Pinsker<\/p>\n

History 118: US History Since 1877<\/p>\n

12\/8\/17<\/p>\n

The Scrutiny and Importance of the Invasion of Grenada<\/p>\n

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Map of Caribbean Sea<\/p><\/div>\n

Matthew H. Hinds served in the Grenadian war in 1983, 20 years old at the time, in the 2nd Armored Division out of Fort Hood Texas as an E5 sergeant. \u00a0According to H.W. Brand\u2019s Book, <\/span>American Dreams<\/span><\/i>, \u201cThe invasion took the world aback; most Americans had no idea where Grenada was and no conception of why American soldiers should be landing there.\u201d [1] Hinds landed on October 25th, 1983 with three tanks in his platoon and proceeded through the jungle of Grenada. Matt stated \u201cOn our first night, I told my men to not go outside of arm\u2019s length of the tank to do their business. Later that night around 3 a.m. I broke my own rules and went about 5 yards from tank when I heard sticks breaking to my right. I sat under a tree in the brush for about an hour listening and waiting for what I was sure were human footsteps. After an hour two men moved towards the tank and were within 2 feet of me. I had the jump on them and in 2 minutes it was over. I think about this event everyday of my life. [2] The United States\u2019 invasion of Grenada was extremely criticized by the world but was necessary to promote immediate and future safety among American citizens. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the morning of 25 October 1983, President Ronald Reagan announced that 1,900 U.S. Marines and Army Rangers, joined by 300 troops from six Caribbean states, had launched a predawn assault on the island of Grenada. The president explained that he had ordered the invasion for three reasons: to protect the nearly 1,000 American citizens at Saint George\u2019s University School of Medicine, to \u201cforestall further chaos\u201d, and \u201cto help in the restoration of democratic institutions in Grenada\u2019. [3] When asked if the battle of Grenada was a significant memory in her life, Edwina Wiecek replied \u201cNo! I simply remember that Reagan ordered an invasion in Grenada to save the students at the university. After this, multiple people on the other side of Reagan questioned his actions on the news and even ridiculed him. The country was still recovering from the loss of life in the bombing of Beirut.\u201d [4] In fact many people did not know where Grenada was or what the situation was at the time. Matt had \u201cNo clue at all…none\u201d of where the island was until his briefing on the way to Grenada. [5] On the way to Grenada he was told \u201csome of Fidel Castro\u2019s guys took over Saint George\u2019s University School of Medicine on the island of Grenada and took American Students as hostage.\u201d [6]. From here Matt\u2019s platoon undertook their mission in the invasion of Grenada. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Time Magazine Cover on Beirut and Grenada<\/p><\/div>\n

On November 2nd the armed hostilities ceased and peacekeeping missions began. Although the battle only lasted 7 days, the United States forces encountered unexpectedly stiff resistance by Cuban and Grenadian forces, the invading contingent was eventually augmented by approximately 4,000 American troops. [7] After the U.S. army saved the kids from the school Matt\u2019s platoon stayed for 3 weeks. \u201cThe armored division cleared out what little armor they had and then the marine recon and their helicopters took care of around 75% of it.. And it was done.. You know a lot of people say the battle of Grenada was five minutes to fight and five weeks to surf because it was so beautiful there\u201d. [8] Alex Warzecha remembers the same depiction of the invasion \u201cWhen the battle scene was shown on CNN, the island almost seemed like a place for a vacation, not a war ground. The news showed the beautiful coastlines and not a lot of destruction on the island\u201d. [9]\u00a0<\/span>The invasion of Grenada was the first time CNN covered a war live on television but not for the first 48 hours of battle due to the distaste for press by military officials after Vietnam.\u00a0<\/span>A disconnect between the press and the military created a distaste for the entire operation which led to coverage backed by ridicule. The Washington Post stated on October 26th, 1983, \u201cThe invasion of Grenada remained largely a matter for the imagination throughout the day yesterday, as Tv networks made the most of maps, shots of helicopters, and many, many talking heads: at the Pentagon, at the White house, on the hill, at the State Department, on Barbados. [10] The barring of reporters from Grenada quickly turned the news coverage of Grenada towards criticizing the actions of the government including a house hearing on the matter on 3 November, 1983. The media brought up the Bombing of Beirut that occurred just 2 days before the invasion as the reason for invading such a small country in the Caribbean. These accusations are still disputed today. The short takeover of Grenada along with the banning of reporters for 48 hours created much contempt about the entire situation<\/p>\n

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Anti-Communist comic book air-dropped into Grenada by the U.S.<\/p><\/div>\n

After the invasion of Grenada the Pentagon reported, 18 American soldiers were killed and 116 were wounded. Cuban forces were estimated to have suffered 24 dead and 59 wounded, while Grenadian military casualties were put at 45 killed and 337 wounded. [11] In a follow-up email interview with Matt, he reported that the Cuban forces killed or wounded were under-reported in order to not report the full Cuban involvement on the island of Grenada. \u201cThe U.S. military did not want the media to know of the immediate threat that was among the students at the school\u201d. [12] Matt\u2019s report of additional Cubans on Grenada during the invasion was confirmed in the World News digest in 1983, \u201cAs the fighting progressed it became clear that there were more Cubans on Grenada than had been thought.\u201d [13] This is the reason the media was barred from entering the island for 48 hours which led to heavy scrutiny of the government. When asked if the invasion was worth it Matt stated, \u201cOf course it was worth it. Going to help Americans\u2026 that\u2019s just it. Part of being a soldier is just doing as you\u2019re told and worrying about the rest of it later.\u201d [14] For Edwina Wiecek, the accusations of the media about the connection of the bombing of Beirut and the invasion of Grenada struck a cord. \u201cI remember questioning if we needed to actually risk our soldiers to take over such a small country that is basically harmless to us.\u201d [15] The aftermath for Grenada was that of peace for the country and Matt even stated \u201cthe people did not seem unhappy to see us even though we just beat their army\u2026 almost a sense of relief.\u201d [16] A new government was installed in Grenada that promoted democracy and got rid of a chance for communist expansion in the Caribbean. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Matt Hinds (Middle Row in the Middle) out of Basic Training<\/p><\/div>\n

Reagan invaded Grenada for three reasons, to save the American citizens in the school, to forestall future chaos, and make Grenada a democracy. The invasion of Grenada successfully accomplished these three goals although the way in which it was done was not efficient. The invasion itself was extremely sudden after a huge tragedy for the country which made it easy to question Reagan\u2019s decision and promote the idea of revenge for America. Matt Hinds does not believe this is accurate as well stating \u201cNo, I don\u2019t\u2026 that\u2019s all politics. Everybody has an opinion but as a soldier you\u2019re told what to do and you do it. But I think we needed to save those kids because Fidel had some of his toughest hardest soldiers there.\u201d [17] \u00a0<\/span>The decision to invade Grenada did not originate from revenge but rather Reagan\u2019s effort to stop communism in the Caribbean and forestall a Cuban arms buildup. The invasion also brought back issues between the military and the media that stem from the Vietnam war. This resulted in a cloudy picture to what actually was happening in Grenada and why. \u201cLadislaus Warzecha (born Jan 23, 1929-died Dec 27, 2014), a Vice president at\u00a0General Electric for 40 years, once told me the hardest thing he had to do was help President Reagan in the early 80s with Cuban-Soviet crisis and whether to invade or not to invade Grenada. He said this period brought the most stress to his life and is why he was away from home so much.\u201d [18] Ultimately, the invasion of Grenada was a necessary event for the future of the United States and promoted democracy in the world even though it received heavy scrutiny from the world and the media.<\/p>\n