VZCZCXRO9395
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHGR #0139/01 3041847
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301847Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY GRENADA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0494
INFO RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 0530
RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHGR/AMEMBASSY GRENADA 0575

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GRENADA 000139 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MOPS KPAO PGOV XL
SUBJECT: REAGAN MONUMENT REDEDICATION HIGHLIGHTS GRENADA INTERVENTION 
25TH ANNIVERSARY 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U) In a moving October 25 ceremony, the Ambassador 
re-dedicated the Ronald Reagan Monument in St. George's, Grenada 
honoring U.S. Service members who gave their lives in the 1983 
U.S.-Caribbean intervention to restore democracy to Grenada. 
The Ambassador read a letter of appreciation from former First 
Lady Nancy Reagan, while SOUTHCOM Lt. General Glenn Spears and 
retired Brigadier General Granville Amos, a veteran of the 
intervention, also delivered remarks.  The ceremony, which was 
attended by family members and friends of seven of the nineteen 
service members who lost their lives and a large contingent of 
former marines who also participated in the 1983 intervention, 
was the highlight of a day of "Thanksgiving" activities that has 
become a tradition in Grenada, and has sparked a re-assessment 
in Grenada - led by Prime Minister Thomas - of the need to close 
this painful chapter in the country's history and protect 
democratic institutions.  End Summary 
 
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Thanksgiving Day Service 
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¶2.  (U) October 25 Thanksgiving Day celebrations began with a 
9:00 am government-organized church service in Prime Minister 
Tillman Thomas' home parish.  In her remarks, the Ambassador 
acknowledged the shared history between the United States and 
Grenada and praised Grenada's continued pursuit of democratic 
ideals.  She recognized the close friendship between the two 
countries and praised Grenada's success.  Grenada's official 
Thanksgiving Day celebrations were started in honor of the 
October 25, 1983 arrival of U.S. and Caribbean forces in 
response to a plea for help, but the holiday has evolved to 
include a broader message of giving thanks for all of Grenada's 
accomplishments and the inner strength of its people.  The Prime 
Minister's message reflected both the broader theme as well as 
the effort that must be maintained to preserve democracy. 
 
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St. George's University Memorial Service 
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¶3.  (U) St. George's University (SGU) holds a memorial service 
for the American service members who were killed in Grenada in 
¶1983.  On each fifth anniversary year, the University pays to 
fly at least one family member of those killed to Grenada for 
the event.  Embassy Grenada was instrumental in helping SGU 
recreate its list of family members that had been lost during 
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 when University buildings were damaged. 
Post worked with the Office of the Secretary of Defense to 
locate and make sure the families received SGU's invitation. 
Family members and friends of seven of the nineteen service 
members killed in 1983 during Operation Urgent Fury attended. 
 
¶4.  (U) SGU Chancellor, Dr. Charles Modica, hosted a dinner at 
the University Club on October 24 for the family and friends of 
the fallen which included several former SGU students and 
faculty who were evacuated from Grenada in 1983 by the U.S. 
military.  The U.S. delegation, led by the Ambassador, attended. 
 Family participants described their feelings coming to Grenada 
twenty-five years after the deaths of their loved ones, while 
the students and faculty shared their thoughts about the impact 
of the evacuation.  The Ambassador thanked the families for the 
sacrifices of their loved ones in defense of democracy and said 
how touched she was listening to their comments about coming to 
Grenada, some for the first time.  General Spears echoed the 
Ambassador's words and offered a toast in water to the fallen 
servicemen, to their courage and their sacrifice. 
 
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Re-dedication of Ronald Reagan Monument 
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¶5.  (U) The most talked-about event of the day, though, was the 
re-dedication of a restored monument to fallen U.S. Service 
members organized by the Embassy and hosted by the Ambassador. 
The Ronald Reagan monument near St. George's Point Salines 
International Airport (PSIA) was built by Grenada to hold a 
plaque commemorating the 1983 U.S. - Caribbean intervention 
which President Ronald Reagan donated to Grenada during his 1986 
visit to the island.  The concrete monument had been allowed to 
deteriorate over the years, and the Government of Grenada 
requested several times after Hurricane Ivan devastated the 
country in 2004 for U.S. help to restore it. 
 
¶6.  (U) The Ambassador made the restoration project a top 
priority for the Mission, with the goal of completing the 
project in time for the twenty-fifth anniversary of Operation 
 
GRENADA 00000139  002 OF 002 
 
 
Urgent Fury on October 25, 2008.  She convinced U.S. Southern 
Command to provide an architect and construction engineers 
through the State Partnership Program to lead the reconstruction 
effort.  Once the design was completed and the costs estimated, 
she found donors willing to fund the restoration of the 
monument.  Embassy Grenada oversaw the actual work on the 
monument, engaging the GOG throughout. 
 
¶7.  (U) In addition to the family and friends of seven of the 
nineteen killed in 1983 in Grenada, a contingent of 52 U.S. 
Marines and their families attended the re-dedication ceremony 
for the Ronald Reagan Monument.  The Ambassador re-dedicated the 
monument to those who put their lives on the line, and 
especially by those who gave their lives, in defense of the 
principles of democracy and the rule of law.  The Ambassador 
described how pleased Mrs. Reagan was to hear of plans to 
refurbish the monument and read aloud the very moving letter 
Mrs. Reagan wrote to mark the event, noting: "I know Ronnie 
would join me in gratitude to you for ensuring their sacrifice 
will never be forgotten". 
 
¶8.  (U) Lt. General Glenn Spears, Deputy at the U.S. Southern 
Command, contributed an honor guard to the ceremony, which 
played Taps to a setting sun before a rapt audience.  Spears 
spoke about the sacrifices the service members made in 1983 and 
assured the families of the fallen soldiers that their 
sacrifices would not be forgotten; nor were those sacrifices in 
vain as Grenada has continued along the path of democracy. 
Brigadier General Granville Amos, who led a contingent of the 
Marines into battle during Operation Urgent Fury, also spoke in 
remembrance of fallen colleagues. 
 
¶9.  (U) Prime Minister Tillman Thomas called for vigilance in 
protecting Grenada's democracy.  He expressed great respect for 
those who died in the struggle to preserve democracy and 
democratic institutions.  The world, Thomas noted, has changed 
in the twenty-five years and there are new threats to democracy, 
including drug trafficking and ammunition movements throughout 
the region.  Thomas declared that "I want this monument to 
remind us of the importance of democracy".  He acknowledged the 
contributions of Caribbean leaders and forces in 1983 who 
contributed to the 1983 intervention.  Thomas ended by thanking 
the families of the U.S. servicemen who gave their lives in 
Grenada for their sacrifices and reminding Grenadians that 
"lives were lost in the process of restoring our democratic 
institution to Grenada ~ and we have to be thankful to those who 
made that supreme sacrifice". 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶10.  (SBU) The restoration of the monument and the ceremony to 
re-dedicate it was a deeply moving experience for many of the 
veterans and their families.  Of particular local note, PM 
Thomas' remarks both at the ceremony and earlier in the day have 
generated serious debate and discussion in Grenada about the 
legacy of the intervention.  Thomas leads the first government 
since the intervention that is composed mostly of Bishop 
supporters and former revolutionary elements.  His 
extemporaneous remarks about the need to protect and preserve 
democracy, then, carry additional weight in the country, and 
particularly in his party, about the need to heal the wounds 
that remain from the conflict and continue building democracy. 
Perhaps his most compelling statement, delivered at the 
rededication, sums up the evolving sentiment best: "It is so 
fundamental because the very said people who, some of them, got 
killed on the 19th, it appears in the last days they themselves 
recognized the importance of the rule of law and even the media, 
because there was reliable information that the late Prime 
Minister was trying to contact journalists to let the outside 
world know what was happening. You see I am making the point to 
show you the importance of a free society. In your heyday, you 
suppress the media, but there is a time when you really want 
rescue, you try to get the media but it was too late."  End 
Comment 
 
¶11.  (U) Ambassador Ourisman cleared this message. 
MCISAAC