Reagan Assures Grenada He’ll Never Be Sorry

President Reagan, at a ceremony commemorating the U.S. invasion that toppled this Caribbean island’s Marxist government, said today he “will never be sorry” for ordering the operation, in which 19 Americans died.

Reagan also told a crowd of Grenadians estimated at 20,000 that the United States “must help those struggling for freedom in Nicaragua,” but ruled out any use of American force.

Asked as he toured the site of the American invasion if he had any plans to also use military force in Nicaragua, Reagan told reporters, “No. I think it’s an entirely different situation. We have no plans” for using military force.

In a speech, Reagan recalled being awakened early in the morning of Oct. 23, 1983, and told that six members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, joined by Jamaica and Barbados, had requested U.S. intervention after the overthrow and murder of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.

Attack 2 Days Later

The United States invaded two days later. Today, Reagan said after laying a wreath at a monument to the dead Americans, “I will never be sorry that I made the decision to help you.”

Reagan added that, “in Nicaragua, we see a chain of events similar to what happened here. We hear the same excuses made for the communists, while the people of Nicaragua see their freedom, slowly but surely, eaten away.

“That is why the United States must help those struggling for freedom in Nicaragua.”

Reagan also announced that the United States, under its Caribbean Basin Initiative, plans to:

--Triple funds for educational programs for the Caribbean, with the aim of training 1,500 students from the islands each year.

--Inaugurate a new program of guaranteed access to U.S. markets for Caribbean-produced clothing made from cloth woven and cut in the United States.

--Undertake a $5.5-million program to help support the judicial systems of Caribbean nations.

$74 Million in Aid

In all, the United States has pumped $74 million into Grenada since the invasion. Major construction includes hotels and a highway.