GRANMA
OFFICIAL VOICE OF THE COMMUNIST
PARTY OF CUBA CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Days of combat
The invader had not been able to establish the beach head needed to justify an OAS intervention. United in resistance, the people displayed the strength that would allow them to confront other battles. The spirit of a nation re-conquered had taken shape in Girón
Author: Graziella Pogolotti | internet@granma.cu
april 16, 2018 10:04:2
Fidel proclaimed the socialist nature of the Revolution on the Havana street corner of 23rd and 12th, during the burial of those killed in the airport bombings of April 15, 1961, the prelude to the Bay of Pigs invasion at Girón. Photo: Raúl Corrales
Rumors of the fighting were heard during the dawn hours. It was at a distance. I went out on the balcony. From the heights of Vedado, militia men ran down the hill as they finished buttoning their uniform shirts. Right away, the news began to spread. They had bombed the Ciudad Libertad airport. We were in the prelude to an imminent invasion, expected since the United States had broken diplomatic relations. We were on the eve of Playa Girón. (on the Bay of Pigs)
Moved by an impulse from the depths of my conscience, I decided to end the convalescence that followed a series of operations. I joined the work. My individual reaction was the same as that of the vast majority of the people who were not on the front lines. On the rearguard, it was our responsibility to assure the normal functioning of the country. And so it was.