Most likely this could of been World War III

On This Day: October 1962

My story of the Cuban Missile Crises

It all started on a Friday in Pendleton just before liberty call. I had just went to the mess hall with an early chow pass that was a hand me down from a Marine who was just discharged. Before I could get into the mess hall a L/Cpl from my radio section came and told me to come back to our battery (Bravo), that the skipper had everybody in formation. I though he was pulling my leg until he said, “Well, I told you” and then he proceeded back toward the battery. I knew then he was not kidding.

The skipper told us that we were on standby and after mess call to start loading up the trucks to mount out. The next day Saturday we stood by then Sunday we drove from lower 16 area Main Side to an infantry camp that was deserted (do not remember which one now). There everybody except the drivers of our 6X’s and jeeps mounted cattle cars and went to Santa Anna, Marine Corps Air facility, El Toro.

As far as you could see down the tarmac was C-130’s loading ammo and stuff. There was Force Recon with camouflaged paint with live ammo belts. We got into this very-very long line to be issued brand new gas masks and flack jackets and pants.

Uh-oh ! Being a smart @ss dumb 19 year old corporal I thought this was a drill not war ! I left allot of my gear I was suppose to bring with me in my buddies car at base, like my dress uniforms and extra pair of boots, etc.

Late that night Sunday, we got into cattle cars again and bussed out to a waiting MATS 707 Boeing jet. Once aboard and taxing down the run-way an Air Force Sergeant came out of the cockpit and told us, “It is 7 ½ hours flight time to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.” I had a straight line of vision to the skipper, a young 1st Lieutenant who dropped his jaw when he heard that. As soon as we were airborne, I seen him open to what I believe sealed top-secret orders and began reading them.

Our artillery battery went from under 100 men to much over that for this mount out. The jet was not a fancy civilian airliner, we could see all the wires and piping throughout the cabin. We peons were all squashed in our seats and a guy to my right couldn't’t feel his legs most of the way there, his legs went to sleep because we were piled on each other without any elbow room.

When we got to Cuba, it was hot and we all had our field jackets on. They took us by landing craft across the bay where we waited a day or two for our howitzers to come in by prop. All we had to eat while waiting on the docks was warm off brand soda, half-frozen school cartons of milk, peanut butter, and bread.

When our howitzers arrived, we drove though Main Side GTMO to a position by the beach where we dug in. I noticed the MT pogues changing our tactical markings on our trucks and leaving with our howitzers. I was told they are making another run through Main Side to make our force look larger than it really was (Second Battalion, 1st Marines and Bravo Battery, 11th Marines). The Cuban’s that worked on base would tell Castro what they saw after work.

1962 - During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet Union missile bases on the island. Over the next six days, the crisis escalated to the brink of nuclear war.

Cuban Missile Crisis in Review
Sequence of Events:

On September 13, 1962 President Kennedy issued a statement to Congress concerning the possible missile threat to the U.S. and the increase of a Soviet buildup in Cuba. On 15 September, the first group of Soviet missiles arrived in Cuba. A couple of days later, a U-2 overflight of the island discovered 6 canvas objects measuring some 60 feet long - resembling Soviet missiles -the next day President Kennedy was told of the discovery.

On September 16, 1962, President Kennedy was told that medium range ballistic missiles were in Cuba. He was also informed that 40,000 Soviet troops in full battle dress were already on the island to repel any attempt by the United States to invade the island and rid it of the Soviet missiles. If the invasion by US forces had taken place, Soviet ground commanders had permission to launch tactical nuclear missiles at the invading US forces. As a result the US would has suffered 90-95 percent causalities, and most likely would have begun World War III. Three decades later, it was noted that 12 short range tactical nuclear missiles had been positioned along the shoreline in those places that could have supported a amphibious landing by US forces. Also, it was noted that 36 Medium Range Ballistic Missiles, each having a one megaton warhead had been placed on the island and could have been readied to be fired at the United States - reaching a path of destruction of 1000 Nautical Miles.

However, U.S. intelligence was flawed: they believed Soviet and Cuban troop numbers on Cuba to be around 10,000 and 100,000, when they were in fact around 43,000 and 270,000 respectively. Also, they were unaware that 12 kiloton-range nuclear warheads had already been delivered to the island and mounted on FROG-3 "Luna" short-range artillery rockets, which could be launched on the authority of the Soviet commander on the island, General Pliyev, in the event of an invasion. Though they posed no threat to the continental U.S., an invasion would probably have precipitated a nuclear strike against the invading force, with catastrophic results.

At the beginning of October 1962, the Atlantic Command was in its normal peacetime configuration.

On October 20, 1962, President Kennedy ordered a quarantine around Cuba and told US forces to prepare for a possible invasion into Cuba - again not knowing of the ground tactical nuclear missiles.

On the evening of October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy, speaking to the Nation on radio and television, described a concerned buildup of Russian missiles in Cuba. The President announced the establishment of a naval quarantine to be effective as of 0900 EST, on the 24th of October. The choosing of the word quarantine verse a blockage implied military action against the Cubans and since the Russians were Cuba's main sponsor, the United States did not want to start hostilities with both countries. The quarantine was to prevent additional shipments of additional arms into Cuba. If necessary, the United States was prepared to take additional action.

While the immediate background of the crisis was one of steadily deteriorating Cuban - U.S. relations, the President made it very clear that this was most then a Cuban - U.S. crisis. It was in fact a direct confrontation between the security of the United States and the challenge posed by the Soviet Union. The President dramatized this fact by asserting that any missiles fired from Cuba against a country within the Western Hemisphere would be considered a direct attack by the Soviet Union and the appropriate response would be countered.

For the public, the President's address was the first alarm bell of danger. But for many days the Commander-in-Chief Atlantic (CINCLANT) had been preparing to counter this newest aspect of the Russian buildup in Cuba.

On October 18th, the prepositioning of forces to reduce reaction time in the event of action against Cuba continued. A reinforced infantry battalion, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines and Bravo Battery, 11th Marines from the Pacific Command's 5th MEB was ordered transferred to the operational control of CINCLANT and a light antiaircraft-missile battalion (Hawk) was ordered to Guantanamo augment forces there.

On October 22, 1962, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines and Bravo Battery, 11th Marines arrived in Cuba by MATS, Boeing 707 Jets, to establish a defensive zone for a possible Cuban assault into the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, all U.S. dependents evacuated. Within the next couple of days additional Marine forces landed on both the windward and leeward sides of the base.

Bravo battery em-placed their howitzers behind Main-side Guantanamo by the beach, on the hill top to the right front about 2 O' Clock from the business end of Bravos 105MM Howitzers the Army had two Hawk Missiles.

Semper Fidelis to all my brothers of the ground element core of the 5th MEB the reinforced 5th Marine regiment from Camp Pendleton

Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division, FMF (Rein), 5th MEB, 1st Lieutenant Skordis Commanding

Lieutenant Skordis told us that we came within a half of hour of attacking Cuba when the order was canceled.

There were enough un-detected Russian Submarines lying off Cuba with 1.5 megaton tipped nuclear torpedoes to sink any invading amphibious assault by American Marines.

The USS Iwo Jima picked us up for the trip home to San Diego and we were in Colon, Panama for dungaree liberty December 1, 1962.

Posts: 850 | Registered: Sat 21 October 2006

wayoutfront

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