ON THIS DATE IN AIRBORNE HISTORY...25 OCT 1983: Operation Urgent Fury begins.
Urgent Fury was the invasion of the island of Grenada by the U.S. and a coalition of six Caribbean nations. The invasion began on the morning of 25 October 1983, just two days after the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut. The invading force consisted of the US Army’s 1st and 2nd battalions of the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 82nd Airborne and the Army’s rapid deployment force, Marines, Army Delta Force, Navy SEALs, and ancillary forces totaling 7,600 troops, together with Jamaican forces and troops of the Regional Security System (RSS).The force defeated Grenadian resistance after a low-altitude airborne assault by Rangers and the 82nd Airborne on Point Salines Airport at the south end of the island, and a Marine helicopter and amphibious landing on the north end at Pearls Airport.
The contingent from the 82nd Airborne Division included: 2/325 AIR, 3/325 AIR, 1/505 PIR, 2/505 PIR, 1/508 PIR, 2/508 PIR, and A Co 2/504 PIR.
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