On the recordApril 12, 2011
on April 17, 1961, 1,500 individuals from the United States and Cuba valiantly volunteered in the Bay of Pigs mission to liberate Cuba from Fidel Castro's grip. They were a diverse group from all backgrounds of Cuban society, all united by the ideal that freedom is a God-given, inalienable right. Having lost their country a couple of years earlier, these brave men took up arms on the beaches of Playa Giron. Over the course of 4 days and facing daunting odds against a better-armed and trained Cuban military, nearly 100 members of the Brigada de Asalto 2506, Assault Brigade 2506, lost their lives, including 4 American pilots. Five others were captured and executed. The majority were captured and imprisoned for many months and years in inhumane conditions. Many of the captured men were fortunate to be eventually released and exiled to the United States, where they restarted their lives, raised families and made it their life's ambition to give their children the opportunities they would not have. I am proud to join my colleagues in the U.S. Senate in paying tribute to the survivors of that mission--several of whom made the journey to Washington this week--and honoring the memories of the deceased. As the son of Cuban exiles, I am proud to represent an entire community of people who lost everything to an accident of history, but came to cherish the freedoms they found in America.…
