Combat· Dominican Republic Intervention (Op POWER PACK)
Dominican Republic 1965 (Operation POWER PACK)
When a coup and counter-coup plunged the Dominican Republic into civil war in April 1965, and amid fears that the rebellion might produce a second Communist state in the Caribbean, the United States intervened to protect American lives and restore order.
Marines of what grew into the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade landed at Santo Domingo, joining Army paratroopers of the 82d Airborne Division in sealing off the rebel-held zone of the city. The Marines fought through contested streets against rebel gunmen, taking casualties in sharp urban firefights, then settled into the harder, longer work of holding a line of checkpoints, controlling movement, and stabilizing their sector while a political solution was brokered through the Organization of American States. As an Inter-American Peace Force took over and the situation calmed, the Marines withdrew. POWER PACK stood as a prominent example of the Cold War "force in readiness" concept in action.
Engagements in this conflict (1)
Record no. 650