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Reagan left Augusta at 7:17 a.m. and arrived back in Washington for a round of NSC meetings that began at 9 a.m. Much of the talks centered on the Marines in Lebanon. That tragedy provided a cover of secrecy for talks about the invasion. Reagan decided that the Beirut bombings made it even more imperative that the U.S. act decisively in the Caribbean, especially since the island nations would know if their request for action had been turned down. Declared Reagan: "We cannot let an act of terrorism determine whether we aid or assist our allies in the region. If we do that, who will ever trust us again?"
On Monday, the U.S. embassy in Barbados received a note from the "Revolutionary Military Council" in Grenada. It said that Americans on the island were in no danger and would be permitted to leave if they wished. The State Department chose to ignore it. At a final military planning meeting from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m., Reagan gave his "semifinal" approval to proceed. At 6 p.m. he signed an order that put the invasion plans into action.
Presidential aides then turned to the touchy task of notifying key congressional leaders without letting reporters know that something unusual was astir. The leaders quietly slipped into the White House through the old Executive Office Building to the White House basement and up a back stairs. Solemnly, the President laid out his plans and his reasoning, much as he would later do on TV. But as the President finished his explanation, the five leaders sat in hushed silence. Finally House Speaker Tip O'Neill broke it. "God bless you, Mr. President," he said. "And good luck." Tip gently patted Reagan's arm in a rare moment of rapport.
Reagan then received a telephone call from Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He told her that the invasion was imminent and explained why. To his apparent surprise, she raised strong objections to the entire proposal, suggesting vaguely that economic sanctions would be more appropriate.
The President was not deterred. The next morning, Tuesday at 9:07, he stepped into the White House briefing room to tell reporters, and the nation, the startling news: "Early this morning, forces from six Caribbean democracies and the United States began a landing or landings on the island of Grenada in the eastern Caribbean."
Some 30 hours later, the televised scenes of American students kissing the tarmac on their return to Charleston, S.C., testified to the dominant feeling among them that the President's action had been justified. Many said they had considered themselves in effect hostages on the island. Chancellor Modica, too, said after State Department briefings that he had changed his mind; his students had been in greater danger than he had realized. "The President acted properly," Modica now admitted.