On this date in 1983, President Ronald Reagan ordered U. S. Marines and Army Rangers to invade Grenada.
Citing a takeover of the Caribbean Island by "a brutal group of leftist thugs," U. S. troops, along with a small force from six Caribbean nations, overcame surprisingly strong resistance from Cubans, who supported the island's new regime.
The troops began evacuating 1,100 U.S. citizens from the island a day after the invasion.
