This brief account was prepared within a few weeks of the events it describes and relies heavily upon the first-hand testimony of the participants as collected by Mr. Benis M. Frank and the author. It details the situation, Initial Planning, Final Planning, Initial Landing, The Capture of Grenville, Action at St. George's, Grand Mal Bay, Movement Toward St. George's, The Grand Anse Operation, Continuing Operations in the Northeast, The Capture of St. George's, The Boundary Problems, Mopping Up on Grenada, Carriacou, and the Departure from Grenada.

This short study of the role of the U.S. Marines in Operation Urgent Fury is in some ways an experiement in the writing of comtemporary military history. The near-coincident Beirut deployment and Grenada intervention presented us with the problem and opportunity of collecting operational history in real time. The brief account was prepared within a few weeks of the events it describes and relies heavily upon the first hand testimony of the participants. The viewpoint presented, therefore, is very much that of the participants and the story is told almost entirely in terms of their perceptions and beliefs.