ALABAMA PILOT TELLS BAY OF PIGS ROLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000200370003-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 22, 1999
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: March 8, 1963
• Content Type: NSPR

STATINTL
abama Pilot Tells Bay of Pigs Role
1i1C:\GO, T47arch 7 (U t'U to be launched, was actually ;ties during the invasion. He i and drop a few bombs on areas
~A Alabama pilot end crlitor ~ i? Guatemala for alast-minute', said he and the other recruits reside the 1ava1 base at
sad today tie was one of lII pep talk t.o his troops-whop were briefed twice by four men Guantanamo. :\11 personnel,.
.American airmen who "re?~were c~?en then being airlifted who gave-only their first names; naturally, would have been re-`
sponded to a personal invita-~ to Nic:?ragua where invasion: and "represented themselves as; moved from these areas ahead ~
t.ion" to take part in the transports lay at anchor otI' being with a company under'of time."
Cuban I1ay of Pigs' invasion. Puerto C'abera," contract to one of the Cuban Persons said "I was t.oM'
J Albert. C. Persons, in a dis? ? PresidcnL Kennedy re-~ exile groups." that this proposition. was pre-.
patch in Chicago's American,.partedly vetoed a plan to save "Ours was not a jcrb that scntc~d to the Presidont. of the!
I~?aid Cuban Dictator Fidel the invasion from faiture b}~ could be volunteered tor," Lnitrd States. 1 cannot, of7
~.~ c?nursc?, r?nniir:rr this. If so, hc,
i(.,astru had 48 hours' advance throwing iI. S. troops into the iersons wrote in the :\mer turuc?d it +tm;?n.' .',,:,
~ notice oC thr. invasion and was. invasion. The United States' ican. "Eac?h of this small #roup -
~ thus "allowed atl the time hr~; would h;r:c been .:*,iven ai hod responded to a pcrsonat
Ineeded to sitcc?essfully dis? ?`casus bclli," Persons said, by invitation. i
pers,^ aircraft, tanks and a take bombin;,~ of the (~uan '1'Lc .\m+?rir?ans "n~erc hired ~
~t~,roops.?' h,namo \aval base. to rc~piacc u,expericnced Cu-
The :\merican, in a separate ? The President never mule han air cre?u~s," Persons said.;
store, named Brig. C:en. G. ;, decision fn withdraw U. S.' 1,4'hru failure of the inva-'
I'_ fir su ~ ort front the invasion lion apt,earcd sure, Persons ~
~ Reicl Roster of the Alabama ~ ? 1 p
4ir Guard as the- man in`forr~es "for the reason t.haf'said, one of the :\meric?anI
charge of tactical air opera?i such support was never a part pilot proposed a plan to brint;
I tions in the invasion. Thee ol" the original planning of the the l t itr?d States into the
newspaper said Dostcr was operation." cr~nt'!;c?t. ~
identified as tactical air chief) ] crsans said his role u~as :\ir~?ralt ~atth ('uhan mark?~
by rr.tired Maj. Gen. David ~V.!,ronfincd to non?conrbat activi~ ink:, ti~?nul~l "straff~ runways
Hutchinson of Oklahoma City.' ?. '
Roster, the American said,.
.referred the .newspaper to;
Persons, 47, a former World
1ti"ar II pilot and now manag-
ing editor of .the weekly Bir-
mingham Examiner.
Persons, in a dispatch ban?
nei'ed in today's American,
said the Central Intelligence
,lf;ency (CI:\) was not to
hla,r~e for the Bay of Pigs
fiasco and "has boon forced to
ar?ccpt the scape~,c,at role in
silr?nrc~.,,
Pc?rcn said also that:
? ~~ i Cardona, Who has
hr?cii r}`idel~? qur,te~ as saying
hr? .Was held inc?crr?rnunicado
I,y tuc CI~~ and Never in~
~,t~tl'ntril w'hr`n tlu~ IP~1'?iSlon Was
CPYRGHT
~T ,`[ !~ 1' ~14~5./ lflhi r? V ~J~M
I.1t.A L
Sanitized -Approved For Rel
Sanitized -Approved For Release :CIA-RDP75-001498000200370003-0