Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada) Photo Gallery by Oly Olson at pbase.com

Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada)

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SGT Austin Stoffel	IMG_0018sm.jpg	IMG_0017sm.jpg	IMG_0016sm.jpg	IMG_0015sm.jpg
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IMG_0003sm.jpg	IMG_0001sm.jpg	IMG_0002sm.jpg	3rd Platoon, B Co., 2-505th	Major-General Edward L. Trobaugh and Admiral Wesley L. McDonald
2/505th Grenada.jpg	Ken Richey Grenada.jpg	Unloading Soviet truck.jpg	UH-60A Grenada.jpg	Grenada vista.jpg
Fort Frederick Grenada.jpg	Grenadian school kids 1983sm.jpg	BRDM-2 during Operation Urgent Fury.jpg	82nd UH-60sm.jpg	3rd Platoon rappelling in Grenada.jpg
2-325th troops Grenada.jpg	82nd MPs in Grenada.jpg	UH-60A on USS Guam off Grenada 1983.jpg	Port_Salines Airport November 1983.jpg	Grenadian "People's Revolutionary Army" warehouse.jpg
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B Co. 2/505 3rd Plt Grenada.jpg	Grenada Invasion Plan.jpg	Grenada leaflet.jpg	Petit St. Vincent bev nap.jpg	IMG_0001sm.jpg
Soviet propaganda.jpg	Soviet propaganda 2.jpg	Soviet Propaganda 5.jpg	Soviet post card.jpg	PB article 1.jpg
PB article 2.jpg	Radio Havana.jpg	Rhaj notice.jpg	Rhaj.jpg	:: January 1984 Soldiers Magazine Article ::

comment |

Oly Olson	PM reply	12-May-2012 07:46
Thanks guys. Walter, the best place to look for DOD photos is here: http://www.defenseimagery.mil

skip/walter		06-May-2012 23:14
just want to thank you for setting up this site I was a corpal with the 82nd I was with aco 3/325 I will never forget I think of my comrads everyday Im glad that somepeople never forget Im lucky to be alive I almost had my head taken off skip/walterhall jr

The Jumpmaster	PM reply	12-Apr-2012 07:35
The info below is from my Grenada scrapbook. Lots of good articles. I even have some 'liberated' Cuban & Grenadian currency. HOOAH! The Jumpmaster B Co, 1/508th PIR.

The Jumpmaster	PM reply	12-Apr-2012 07:32
Someone posted about the 82nd not jumping in. That is correct. Only the Rangers jumped in, but they had 2 Combat Engineers from the 82nd WHO DID JUMP IN with the Rangers: Specialist 4th Class William R. Richardson and Sergeant Charles Spain, of the 307th Engineer Bn. Richardson was in the unit 2 months, and hadn't even jumped with his unit yet. And all this that I just typed up is straight out of The Paraglide, titled, 'Two 82nd soldiers make first combat jump since WWII'.

Walter Gomez		24-Mar-2012 14:26
Hi Oly, I was with the 1/505th 82nd Airborne during Operation Urgent Fury. I was ecstatic to find this site. People tend to forget that this was worldwide frontpage news and that we lost American lives during the invasion. Just an fyi- this was the 1st successfull military operation since well before the Vietnam Era. I would really like to be able to have some of these color prints to share with my fakily and friends. Can you kindly help ? Thanks !

Guest		05-Mar-2012 04:33
Great Photos! Brings back both good and sad memories of the operation. Was in HMM 261, and we lost three excellent men during the conflict. I remember their faces to this day and the photo of evac of the wounded really hits home.

Oly Olson	PM reply	12-Feb-2012 09:38
I remember that Turkey jump. My chute fouled so I wound up back at Incirlik AFB and took a bus and a ferry clear across Turkey to meet up with the Battalion...in full war paint with my gear and M16! It was surreal. Amazing how nobody bothers you when you're the only guy with a machine gun...no matter how out of place you are. Thanks for your service!

Guest		09-Feb-2012 04:12
I was an 82d MP attached to 2/325 under if I remember right, Col. Silvasy. Fun times, great memories, and the biggest rats scavenging through the garbage on the streets at night I've ever seen. Later was assigned as the CG's driver (MG Trobaugh) and jumped into Turkey right behind MG Bobby Porter when he slammed into the side of a gamma goat. Winds were too high and it ended up finishing his career. Sgt. Randall Burford All The Way, Sir!!

Oly Olson	PM reply	29-Jan-2012 17:21
I'll ask around.

David Allen		21-Jan-2012 16:58
I was in the 25 th and we sat on a tarmac at hickam air base waiting. Never went. I've got a guy who works with me who say's he got a Bronze star there. Hi's name is Mike Cooper and he says he was a medic in the 505' 82 A.D.. For reasons of my own I think he is just telling stories. Did anyone know him then. Thanks

longbachnguyen	PM reply	04-Jan-2012 07:43
Great documentary and historical set of images from your perspective. v

Oly Olson	PM reply	12-Nov-2011 09:21
True statements - the Duece air landed. I was on the first C-141 with General Trobaugh. Buddy I work with was on that bird with me, another buddy from work was flying the third C-141 and remembers watching us on approach. Small world.

Guest		07-Nov-2011 04:21
Ranger Bill is right. Nobody from the Duece jumped in. I was with the 82nd, and we were chuted up till the 20 minute warning. The Rangers has cleared the runway and about 15 minutes out, we dumped our chutes (major cluster f**k.) We airlanded and did a hot offload. The Ranger Bn's were hard at it at the inland end of the airfield. We had crossloaded and since we airlanded it was a cluster trying to get oranized. My fondest memory was dumping all my DRF load at CLAC and overloading on ammo. When we hit the ground running my ruck must have weighed 150 pounds......brutal.

RANGER BILL BAILEY		04-Nov-2011 12:02
The 82nd Airborne did NOT make the combat jump into grenada, weell 2 heavy equipment operator engineers (both privates) did, their unit thought it was a bogus detail coming up amd sent the cherries, I know this beacouse i was a PFC with B Co 1-75 (ranger), i made the 402 foot jump with no reserve

Oly Olson	PM reply	02-Nov-2011 16:19
Thank YOU sir.

Dave Berry	PM reply	31-Oct-2011 05:26
Great gallery of history in the making from the perspective of someone who was there. Thanks for sharing and for serving. LTC (Ret.) Dave Berry

Oly Olson	PM reply	01-Oct-2011 20:22
Thanks for the comments guys! -- Oly

wright		01-Oct-2011 04:51
i was on board the uss caron dd 970 at the time. i had reported aboard about 2 weeks ago before the invasion as the leading quartermaster. the thing i remember the most was when we intercepted some fishermen late one evening who were trying to get something to eat. they were thankful for the food that we gave them.

Donald Thomas		17-Aug-2011 04:17
I was a (Sgt) E5, Donald Thomas, with the 1/17th Air Cav, 82nd Airborne, doing Grenada Invasion 1983. (MOS) 77F refueling, received Bronze Star; Retired 2001(E8), any other out their apart of this Cav. please freely contact me.

Oly Olson	PM reply	15-Aug-2011 17:48
Thank you for your service Walter.

walter hall		14-Aug-2011 00:33
Im just Glad that there are people that still remember this its been a very long time there isnt a Day that I dont think of my Comrades I was with Aco3/325 thanks God bless skip from Boston

Oly Olson	PM reply	01-Aug-2011 01:46
I'm glad it brought back memories for you sir - it does for me as well and that was why I put it together. :-) I'm afraid I don't know how to come by Life Magazine photos, but I suspect someone at the Time/Life company can help you.

Guest		20-Jul-2011 19:55
your gallery brings back a lot of memories, i was told of photos that were posted in LIFE Magazine, some of them were of my unit, do you know how i may be able to find and possibly view these photos? thanx don

Oly Olson	PM reply	03-May-2011 08:35
I'm sorry Tim, but your Dad's name does not ring a bell. Best of luck to you.

Guest		02-May-2011 17:16
Hello there, I really appreciate your service. My dad Timothy Blue dropped in Grenada as 82nd airborne from ft. Bragg. He passed this year at age 50 from a rare cancer (cholangiocarcinoma). Do any of you know him or remember him? I know this isn't the right place to try to find people who might have known my Dad but maybe it's a start. Thank you all again, Tim

Guest		12-Apr-2011 04:35
Searching for James D. Scobee and Michael Gonzalez.

Oly Olson	PM reply	09-Apr-2011 01:40
Doesn't ring a bell Marc but I'll ask the other guys. -- Oly

marc		08-Apr-2011 13:24
just wondering if any one remembers david merrit...he'a close friend of mine

Oly Olson	PM reply	22-Jan-2011 19:28
Thanks for your service guys!

guest		21-Jan-2011 13:52
MP's from the 118th (ABN) at Ft. Bragg ran the POW camp. We arrived the morning of Oct 27.

Charlie		21-Jan-2011 13:38
Great History, I was part of the invasion and follow on Force. C-130's Special Op's from 317th TAW , Pope AFB

Oly Olson	PM reply	27-Dec-2010 04:42
Thanks Tom! I remember you well bro and yes, that was a terribly sad day indeed.

Tom Maloney		26-Dec-2010 01:20
Hi Oly Tom Maloney here. Great photos!!! They bring back alot of memories. I have never forgotten that day when Rhaj died. It is stiil very vivid in my mind. I have forgotten faces and names, but my memories of him never faded. It was a sad day for all of us. When we were in Grenada I was 19, now at 46 it seems so long ago. Thanks for sharing these pictures. Don't know if you remember me, or I you. contact me by E-Mail sometime abnsfs@verizon.net. Thanks again. 3rd plt 2/505

Oly Olson	PM reply	25-Sep-2010 21:50
Thanks for your comments Jon.

Jon		18-Sep-2010 17:37
I was part of a communications battalion out of Ft. Huachuca, AZ. I was attached to 4th Psyops out of Fort Bragg and flew down to Grenada for the invasion on Nov 2, 1983. Our mission was to erect and operate 'Radio Free Grenada', which eventually was renamed 'Spice Island Radio' when the programming was moved to St. George's from our site near Point Salines and the airport. Let me say this: the operation was a chaotic mess. When my major showed me where we were setting up the radio station, I was simply flabbergasted. It was in a valley, surrounded on three sides by rather steep hills. Bad news for two reasons: 1) we couldn't see any approaching enemies because of the hills; and 2) putting a radio antenna in the middle of a valley decreases range. That said, we made it work. My site was also right next to the Cuban POW camp. I mean RIGHT next to it. So close that 50 feet away were prisoners and we'd hear them screaming constantly. Apparently when they were unruly, the 82nd Airborne folks operating the POW site would shut the Cubans in wall lockers so small that they couldn't sit down - in 95 degree temps with 100% humidity. I thought that was inhumane, tantamount to torture. One day I got into a 'discussion' with the 82nd Airborne guy manning their .50 caliber machine gun. He told me if any prisoners escaped across our site, we'd better hunker down because he was going to shoot. And I told him if I saw rounds coming through our site then I was going to make him my first target, to eradicate the greatest threat to my life. A funny story now. One Sunday night me and a friend decided to take over the radio station and rock South America and the Caribbean out. So when the Grenadian broadcaster announced the beginning of the Sunday night 'Quiet Hour', we turned down her volume and faded in some AC/DC Hell's Bells, followed by some Black Sabbath (Iron Man), some Rush (Tom Sawyer), etc. We ran the music for about an hour then brought down our music and faded back in the end of the 'Quiet Hour'. It really sounded purposeful and professional the way we did the fade-ins and outs. Well, a month later some FCC investigators showed up on our site asking questions. I baffled 'em with bullsh&t and said something along the lines of, 'Ah yeah, I remember that night. The ionosphere was experiencing some aberrant propogatory problems that night.' Their eyes glazed over and that was that. They left the next day, mystery unsolved.

Oly Olson	PM reply	19-Jun-2010 02:22
Hey Alex, Yes I have heard of your unit but I don't have a link for any information regarding it and Operation Urgent Fury. Thanks for your service! Best, Oly

Alex Goode		17-May-2010 01:46
I was a member of the 403rd Trans co. and we were deployed to Grenada to receive supplies and troops in and out and was wondering if you have ever heard of the company or what we did there. we were there on the flightline there and back on greenramp at Pope Airforce base. i cant find anything else and thoought since this is the best info with pictures I thought i would ask. Great work and thenks

Oly Olson	PM reply	07-Apr-2010 06:56
Thanks for looking!

barley23	PM reply	07-Apr-2010 06:16
Interesting gallery! It's a refresher for me since I was a bit younger when this took place. Thank you for sharing. V

Oly Olson	PM reply	29-Jan-2010 04:46
Thanks Darrell! Your service is very much appreciated as well. Debbie: All I can suggest is to scour the internet as I did. Not much on Urgent Fury out there! Best, Oly

Darrell Andersen		11-Jan-2010 09:05
Oly, My name is Darrell Andersen, I was in the 1/508 at the time and had been in division less than 10 days before being deployed. This was quite the eye opener for a young hard charging paratrooper! These pics are great and bring back many memories, thank you very much for putting these together, they bring back a ton of memories. Thanks for your service.

Guest		11-Dec-2009 20:11
Hello! My husband was a part of Operation Urgent Fury. If I'm not mistaken, he was an MP attached to the 82nd. He said that they dropped in, at the airport, and were having to try to find cover behind various tow motors and pieces of equipment, because what they initially thought was good cover turned out to be the aluminum cases that store cargo on planes. He was wounded in the conflict, and was medivac'd out. I have been struggling with finding any coverage, photos, video, etc. of the operation - particularly anything that is not SEAL or DELTA related. I sincerely appreciate your site, as it helps to give me some better idea of the situation. If you happen to have any ideas regarding other sources for information, it would be much appreciated. Many thanks, Debbie Harris Houston, Texas

Oly Olson	PM reply	13-Jun-2009 21:31
Thanks for your comment. I was in the 1st Starlifter to land on the island and yes indeed quite a firefight had erupted just about the time we landed. The Rangers were dealing with it very effectively so we 82nd troopers focused on getting regrouped and organized before nightfall.

Guest		11-Jun-2009 18:13
I was a member of the 14th Military Airlift Squadron during Urgent Fury (C-141 Starlifters). The Vietnam veteran flight crews returned to California stating that it was flashbacks of Nam. Several 141's returned with holes in them.

Oly Olson	PM reply	26-Aug-2008 15:34
Those of you who remember this conflict may recall the near total press blockade set up by the Pentagon during the early days of this operation. The was the U.S. military's first martial order following the Viet Nam disaster and the general opinion at the time was that the United States administration was not going to let the press drive public opinion regarding the conflict as many thought had happened during the Viet Nam conflict (not saying I agree with that - simply stating what many thought was the reason behind the press lock out). As a result, the vast majority of photos I have been able to find regarding Operation Urgent Fury were taken by Department of Defense photographers and as such are in the public domain. When otherwise I will try to make a note or give a credit. -- Oly Olson

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