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Family visits Grenada 40 years after Cline’s death
What’s it like to lose a loved one in a military action?
For better or worse, Rodney Cline has had 40 years to think about it.
His brother, U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. Randy Cline, was killed during the U.S. invasion of Grenada on Oct. 25, 1983 — one of just 20 U.S. soldiers to die in the action. The Belle Union resident was 28 years old.
“It seems like it happened 40 years ago sometimes, and sometimes it seems like it was yesterday,” Rodney Cline said.
He and daughter Hannah had the opportunity to be in Grenada for a 40th anniversary commemoration of the invasion last month. While it was an opportunity to learn more about the military action and to see where a cherished family member was killed, Rodney also understands that some questions remain unanswered.
“I think most families are seeking some kind of closure,” Rodney said. “And I don’t think you’ll ever get closure because I heard — from the very first day that he was killed even until now — so many stories about what happened, what did not happen, how it actually went down, how he actually got killed.
“Does it really give you some closure? The fact is, he got killed.”
What the trip did provide, though, was an opportunity to appreciate Randy’s sacrifice, as well as to see that it’s still appreciated by the Grenadians themselves.
From a personal perspective, Rodney knows that his brother loved his country, and wanted to be with his fellow Rangers — 3rd Platoon, A Company, 1/75th Infantry — even as wife Vera was at home expecting their first child. Daughter Randi was born four months later.
“You join the military for personal reasons,” Rodney said. “You really love your country. You believe in what you’re doing. That was him. He loved his country, and he believed what he was doing was right. He probably would’ve been disappointed if he didn’t get to go.”
According to his brother, Randy never shied away from adventure and danger. Besides having been recently promoted to sergeant at the time of his death, he was also a SCUBA instructor, a paratrooper and “did all that crazy stuff.”
“He did that here before he ever joined,” Rodney recalled with a smile. “He repelled off the courthouse up here one time and he was a SCUBA diver and skydiver and all that stuff.”
So it was that he believed in what he was doing when he was sent as part of Operation Urgent Fury, in the name of protecting U.S. medical students in Grenada, following the Oct. 17 assassination of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, who had aligned himself with the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Coming two days after a bomb in Beirut had killed 241 marines and sailors, the invasion was seen by some as President Ronald Reagan creating a distraction. Rodney shared that opinion at the time.
“I was a little upset at the time,” Rodney said. “I thought that maybe Ronald Reagan was trying to make a makeup call, which he was not, by doing this invasion in Grenada. We had something at stake there, we had medical students on that island that had been going to school for quite some time, and their lives were at risk. If the invasion hadn’t taken place, those students might’ve been killed.”
He also spoke of the 600-some Grenadians who were planning a pro-Cuban coup at the time of the invasion who later “took off into the jungles and dispersed” after the invasion ended with a U.S. victory.
Largely, though, the Clines and the other survivors, found a grateful country awaiting them, even 40 years later.
“It was just so cool after all this time to see how grateful they still were,” Hannah said. “When we got dropped off at the airport, even some of those people were grateful and said, ‘Thank you.’ I told my dad, ‘This is one of the coolest things is that nobody else that I know of, that has lost a service member has had the opportunity to have a paid trip to go to wherever it happened, by that country. That’s one of the most amazing parts is that they are so grateful 40 years later.”
Just 20 soldiers died in the invasion, and 14 of those families were represented this year, with the Grenadian government footing the bill.
It’s actually the fourth time members of the Cline family have attended such a ceremony, with Randy’s parents Richard and Betty attending the 20th anniversary, Rodney and another of his brothers attending another event, and daughter Randi Cline attending the 35th.
Commemorating the invasion truly remains a big deal in Grenada.
“That’s actually their Thanksgiving Day,” Hannah said. “They didn’t have a Thanksgiving before, but they made it Oct. 25.”
Hannah also discussed how she’s always thought of her uncle anytime she heard “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which really hit home when she heard it during the formal ceremony in Grenada.
“Probably the heaviest part of the trip was at that ceremony when they did the National Anthem,” she said. “It was just crazy because you were actually where it happened. That kind of brought it all together for me.”
Along the way, they were able to see where things happened, and perhaps gain a bit more perspective on how they happened, though exactly what happened when Randy’s Jeep was attacked remains a mystery.
The trip even provided a chance to hear from and meet Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.
“It was gratifying to still see 40 years later the respect and gratitude that the United States stepped in and helped them out,” Rodney said. “They would not have been a free country and would have been overthrown by Cuba.”
Ultimately, the medical students on the island were saved, with many of them remaining on the island. In the years since, a veterinary school has also been added.
“Some of the leaders of the medical school there, they were there 40 years ago,” Rodney said. “It was enjoyable talking to them, and they were just really nice people.”
During a barbecue, Rodney and Hannah even had the chance to speak to a man who had been in Randy’s platoon.
“We met a guy who was 19 at the time, and was in the same platoon as my uncle,” Hannah said. “He helped prepare their Jeep that they were going to take off in once they got there. He got to tell us how much he thought of my uncle.”
As devastating as the loss was, the Clines have gained perspective on Randy’s death.
“His death had a lot of meaning, and I think not everyone who loses someone can say that,” Hannah said. “We’re fortunate, I think, to have been able to go through that.”
From Rodney’s perspective, the meaning has come in getting past the initial devastation and then carrying on with a life of personal freedom in a country he loves.
“They wouldn’t want you to do it any other way,” he said.
Now retired from full-time law enforcement work, Rodney still works security at the Putnam County Courthouse, just a few feet from where a memorial to his brother hangs on the wall. Occasionally, a visitor will unwittingly bring up the subject.
“I’ll have people say, ‘I knew that guy right there,’ and I’ll say, ‘Yeah, I knew him too,’” Rodney said with a laugh.