REAGAN MONUMENT REDEDICATION HIGHLIGHTS GRENADA INTERVENTION

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

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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