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| Photo of a Brigade Member |
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| View from the crowd |
At just past midnight on the morning of April 17, 1961, an expeditionary force of approximately 1,500 men, assisted by naval and air forces, attempted an invasion of Cuba in order to overthrow the government headed by Fidel Castro. Known as Brigade 2506, they landed on the beach known as Playa Giròn, at the mouth of a bay called the Bahia de Cochinos. In Spanish-speaking countries, this event is remembered as La Bataya de Giròn. In the United States it is remembered by the English name, the Bay of Pigs.
The invasion lasted three days and resulted in a loss for the American-backed expeditionary force. There are numbers, of course: 118 killed and 1,202 captured. On the defenders' side 176 were killed and 4,000 wounded. The invaders put up a strong fight. Many would languish in prison and face execution in the days that followed the invasion. Eventually, most would make it back to the United States, many to Miami. More than a loss of the battle, though, the Bay of Pigs marked the end of any further significant attempts to over-throw the Castro Government and to reverse its Marxist revolution. La Revoluciòn consolidated its grip power. Those caught on the other side of this Caribbean Iron Curtain settled into a life as Revolucionarios, whether by choice or circumstance; those caught on this side became exiles, without any real choice. The temporary became permanent.
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