“Castro had almost 30,000 men around the beachhead. But Oliva had one tank, manned by teenager Jorge Alvarez and another manned by Jose Fajardo, who’d left a wife and 4 year old daughter in Miami to volunteer for the freedom-fight. The little girl would grow to be known by her maiden name, Gloria Estefan. Jorge and Jose had already knocked out several massive Russian tanks, Stalins and T-34s.
But now, between these two tanks, their commanders,( who were dropped on the beachead by a U.S. Pres. who proclaimed: “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty!”)– had left as ammo: a total of two rounds.
Gloria’s dad aimed ..BLAM! and another Russian tank burst into flames–then BLAM! His own tank was blasted from the Russian tank next to the one he demolished..
“Dammit!” thought Fajardo’s Commander Erneido Oliva as he saw the explosion and flames. But Gloria’s old man opened the hatch and somehow clambered out, with his clothes on fire. He looked around, saw his commander, saluted and started rushing up for further orders. “Jose collapsed midway to me” recalls Oliva. “He was horribly wounded. His face and half his body were a mass of blood–but Jose wanted to keep fighting! That’s the REAL untold story about the Bay of Pigs!” Oliva stresses. “The heroism of our men, the fanaticism and professionalism these–mostly civilian volunteers with less than a month’s training–displayed in combat. I was a professional military man, they mostly weren’t. And I’ll tell you, my men’s heroism left me speechless–does to this day.”
(Gloria ‘s father survived his Bay of Pigs wounds. Tragically, his wounds from two tours of duty in Viet-Nam as a volunteer, proved fatal. Seems he seconded his brother in arms, fellow Bay of Pigs and ‘Nam vet Felix Rodriguez when the latter wrote: “I lost the country of my birth to Communism know freedom must be protected. And I felt I owe it to my adopted country.”
From Fidel: Hollywood’s Tyrant Tyrant.
Teenage brigadista Oscar Rodon Caminero, nephew of Representative Lincoln Rodon, also fired his bazooka at a Russian T-34 tank approaching Playa Larga. Unfortunately, he fired too close, and an exploding piece of shrapnel shot back into his forehead, killing him instantly.
A group of brigadistas leaving Playa Larga on the last day clambered aboard one of their own tanks. Alvin Ross Diaz recalled how in his haste to jump on, he inadvertedly pressed his hand down on the tank’s muffler. He said that within minutes, his hand had swelled to the size of a catcher’s mitt.
Their heroism and sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Maybe Felix Rodriguez owed it to his adopted country, but he owed absolutely nothing to said country’s supposed “best and brightest,” exemplified by JFK and cohorts.