I was in Gitmo the summer of ’66 when one of our Marines shot and killed a Cuban sentry who was climbing over the fence. Castro gave us 12 days to get out or he said he would “blow us out.” By the time it got down to the second day there was a USN fleet just off the coast with a Russian fleet right behind them. It was kept quiet because of the turmoil between the “anti-establishment” movement, race and women’s rights movements and the anti- Vietnam protests. Does ANYONE recall being there then? …You still out there “T”?
Sgt Grit wants to hear from you! Leave your comments below or submit your own story!
Stirs a vague memory that I may have heard of it. I didn’t get much outside rumors summer ’66. Summer of ’66 for me was filled with putting together the T/O, T/E for the coming mount out of 2/26. Basically locking myself in a room with an armed guard outside the door, escorting me to put the work away in safe and use the head or what ever, preparations for the mount out and leaving via ship in Aug. I didn’t join the anti-establishment movement, race and women’s rights movements and anti-Vietnam protests (VVAW) until ’69.
You ever think that maybe that Cuban sentry just wanted asylum?
I was with 2/8 ( I think ) in ’68 when we left Moore Head City headed for Gitmo. We had a Russian Sub follow us all the way. Leaving the ship we were on by going down the Rope Net ( forget what it’s called ), the waves were very high & moving the Papa Boats up & down against the ship. Our Bn. Co. had ordered us to climb down the ” Ropes ” but the Captain of the ship Instructed him that while he & his Marines was aboard HIS SHIP, HE WAS THE RANKING OFFICER IN COMMAND & he wouldn’t let us go over board until the waves settled down. First time ever I saw a Bn. Co. ” huff & puff “. Once @ Gitmo we had to run drills early every morning into the hills & man our post. One of my Buddies told me one morning while we were in the hills on guard to yell something ( in Spanish ) to a Cuban Soldier we saw. When I did. the Cuban shot @ me. Later found out what I yelled out was ” kiss my a– . That’s the only time I ever heard a shot fired from either side in my entire nine months there., though many other incidents happened.
In early January,1961 I was Platoon Leader of 1st Plt, B Co, 2nd Tank Bn. We sailed from Moorhead City aboard the LSD Hermitage and headed south. The next day I walked out on the deck and saw Navy ships as far as I could see. About 10:00 hours I was flown to the Boxer, the Command ship. There the Bn. CO open sealed orders and read where we were going into Gitmo, set up a base of supply, then attack inland cutting Cuba in half. Then the 2nd Air Born would drop in on one end and the 2nd Mar Div would come in on the other end. We were to be the anvil and they were the hammers. Whole operation was to take 90 days.
We were to start off loading at 03:00 when Pres. Eisenhower sent a message to hold the landing and we sailed around Cuba for 5 days driving Castro into a frenzy. Then we sailed to Vieques, off loaded and spent a month while Castro still ranted that if the Marines landed, 20,000 gringos would die.
After a month a plane landed and we had new orders. We went back into the back door of Gitmo, and landed, setting up defensive positions around the water point (Then the water point was of base and Castro wanted to cut off the water to force the Americans to leave.) With a reinforced Infantry Co, backed up by a heavy section of tanks, the water point was maintained in our control and Castro decided to leave us alone. This is just a memory of long ago.
Might of herd somthing about it I was with 8th Marines in 68
We in Bravo Batt’y, 1st Bn, 11th Marines, 105 howitzers, flew to Cuba in Oct, ’62 to support 1st Marines in ‘The Blockade’. After about 6 weeks of ‘saber-rattling’ Kruschev’s pecker went limp and he reversed his stance om Cuba. Castro was infuriated and wanted to launch a land attack against Gitmo. Someone convinced him not to. We folded our tents, boarded the good ship Iwo Jima and sailed back to California. I still reminisce online to worn out old vets that served with me in that campaign. I am quite surprised to learn of this incident in ’66. To this day, no one has EVER mentioned this conflict. Perhaps it was overshadowed by the ‘hot’ incident in Sant Doming in 1965 where 2nd Mar Div had to slap some of Castro’s misfits back to Cuba. Note, I’m only commenting because the ‘Gitmo ’66’ incident is a complete surprise to me. Semper Fi, y’all.
Wasn’t aware Eisenhower was POTUS in 1961.
J,F.K. was elected president in Nov 1960 . . . Took over as president in January ’61.
I was there when that happened, I was in the 8th Engineers in Camp Lejeune, Our platoon was TADed to remove the mines laid in
“62” during the missile crisis and replace with new ones. If I remember correctly the Cuban soldier was in the minefield we were working on and plotting it’s layout. We had the mines in place but not armed yet. The marine in the tower saw him but did not fire until the Cuban was over the crude Cuban fence, OOPS! You are right, apparently there was little or no reporting of this incident stateside.
I was at Gitmo Nov 69 to May 70 with 2nd Anglico. We were on Windward side and jumped on officers golf course. They told us to stay off greens. Didn’t want us messing them up when we landed. Everything else was cactus. Almost all of us landed on a green. Very good duty with Navy chowhall. Semper Fi
I was in Gitmo in 62 with 2nd Amtracs don’t remember anyone getting shot but then my memory isn’t that good anymore. I do remember that when we first landed it was kind of scary.
After I got back from Vietnam 6/66 I was in weapons PLt. Alpha 1/2/2 we were double TO. Half went to Vietnam and the rest of us boarded ship at Moorhead city and got to Gitmo September of 1966 we did 24 hours on the fence line 24 off. We got back to the CONUS Feb 1967 While there the only action was a Hurricane came though around Christmas and blew some of the towers down and moved the mine field.
I was there in 1962 at gitmo with the 6th marines.anyone else with me then?
I was there at the time of this incident and was thought to have been deeply involved. As a PFC with 2nd ANGLICO I was assigned to guard duty on the bunker directly behind the bunker where the shots were fired from.I was also on duty when this happened. I only had guard duty one night my entire time in Gitmo and it had to be that night. Needless to say Fidel was hot and ready to go to war. There’s more to this incident that has never come out, but i’ll let it at that.
The soldiers name was Luis Rameriz Lopez and, the Cubans claimed that he was shot in the back. It turned out to be false .He was shot in the chest when he reportedly jumped the first row of fence of the base.The incident was reported back here but,was only reported as by the Defense Dept. as an “Incident at Guantanamo that was under investigation” Harry
I was in High School in Miami Beach Florida- the Cuban Crises was real for us – and scary to a teenager- we had a football game with Key West- the traffic on the Causeway to Key West was closed and only people who were cleared by the U S Military were allowED ON THE cAUSEWAY- kEY wEST WAS ALLOWED ONE BUS AND ONE TRUCK WITH GEAR TO COME TO MIAMIBbEACH FOR THE GAME– After High School I enlisted- and was never confused as to who I was or what I represented as a United States Marine and a U S Citizen.