Kerr: Grenada operation was 40 years ago this week

The US invasion of the tiny Caribbean nation of Grenada is basically a footnote in the annals of American history. For some of us, though, it represents a rather jarring reminder of how fast time can fly.

Incredibly, it was 40 years ago this month that a few hundred shipmates, Marines and I thought we were on our way to what appeared to be a memorable Mediterranean cruise aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Guam. Most of us were in our late teens and 20s, and were very much looking forward to scheduled liberty ports like Lisbon, Portugal; Mombasa, Kenya; and Barcelona, Spain, which was rumored to have nude beaches. We would have to cross the Equator, meaning we would be initiated as “shellbacks,” a pretty big deal in the maritime community.

We had departed our home port in Norfolk, Virginia, earlier that month and stopped off in North Carolina to onload the men and helicopters of the 22^nd Marine Amphibious Unit. The Guam (LPH 9) was a helicopter carrier, built to carry 1,800 troops and equipment by sea for attacks on land. The Med cruise was intended to help keep peace in the Middle East, primarily by patrolling off the coast of Beirut.

When reminiscing about my old ship, I like to reference that great scene in “A Few Good Men” when Tom Cruise – the Navy lawyer in his crisp white uniform – asks the surly Marine Corps lieutenant played by Keifer Sutherland if there’s some animosity between them.

“No, I like all you Navy boys,” Sutherland drawls. “Anytime we gotta go someplace to fight, you fellas always give us a ride.”

This particular ride was to take us across the Atlantic Ocean, but we weren’t that deep into our voyage when we suddenly diverted off course. At first, we had no idea why.

Eventually we learned we were heading to the island of Grenada, where a bloody coup had resulted in the machine-gun execution of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and members of his cabinet. But of particular concern to US interests was the detainment of hundreds of American medical students, and the possibility that they might be held as hostages. We later learned Ronald Reagan’s administration was also apprehensive of the heavy presence of communist Cubans in Grenada at a time when the Cold War was still pretty chilly. A coalition of neighboring Caribbean countries asked the US to step in as well.

The Guam was the flagship of COMPHIBRON 4 (Navy jargon for Commander of Amphibious Squadron 4), and so served as the command center for what became Operation Urgent Fury. Vice Admiral Joseph Metcalf III was appointed commander of the joint task force.

In the early-morning rainy hours of 25 October 1983, the assault began. Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters carried troops onto the island, and two Huey Cobra helicopters were shot down by anti-aircraft gunfire. I remember a damaged Army Blackhawk helicopter landing on our flight deck and having to be hosed down by water, and the wounded pilot being one of dozens of wounded troops brought into our medical facilities. And our dead as well.

One of my lasting memories is the sight of American helicopters flying over the island, like a scene from the Vietnam War classic “Apocalypse Now.” I also have to this day a few of the flyers we dropped over the island by air during the operation, instructing Grenada citizens to stay indoors and “tune to radio frequency 1580 for further guidance and information.”

The other side of the flyers declared:

“Your Caribbean neighbors and the United States have come to Grenada to

• Restore peace and order

• Insure your safety”

The entire operation lasted a week. The students were liberated, and an America-friendly government was temporarily installed. We were told at the time that 18 American servicemen had been killed and 116 were wounded in action. It was the first serious US military action since the Vietnam War. Reagan deemed it a success but the United Nations declared the action in Grenada a "flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of that State.”

In the meantime, a suicide bomber had blown up a Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 of our best young men. In a classic illustration of going from the frying pan into the fire, the Guam departed from the Caribbean islands and headed on to the coast of Lebanon, a real hotspot of trouble in those days which we had patrolled just the previous year. We wound up spending something like 142 consecutive days at sea, which was a record at the time and might still be for non-nuclear Navy ships. At one point we had to help evacuate US citizens and others from this war-torn country.

The entire crew was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for its efforts in Grenada, among other decorations. I’m told a second AFEM was bestowed years later for our service off Beirut, but doesn’t show up in the discharge papers of those who returned to civilian life before that decision was made.

We didn’t know it at the time, but we had a world-famous American military hero on board during the Grenada invasion. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr back then was just another two-star general, appointed as the Army advisor to Admiral Metcalf. A few years later, as the mastermind behind Desert Storm, Stormin’ Norman would become a genuine folk hero. He once wrote that the lessons learned during Grenada regarding communication and coordination between the branches helped make the 1991 operation such a great success.

Our crew never got to cross the Equator or visit Barcelona, but folks like country music queen Loretta Lynn, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, and Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger came out to the ship to show their support. The legendary Bob Hope revived his USO show that Christmas in our hangar deck and brought along entertainers including a young Brooke Shields. I’ve always appreciated that.

D. Allan Kerr currently lives in Kittery, Maine, but for four years called the USS Guam home.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kerr: Grenada operation was 40 years ago this week