[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 56 (Friday, April 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING BRAVE PATRIOTS OF BRIGADE 2506

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 15, 2011

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember the brave patriots 
of Brigade 2506, and their American co-fighters, on the fiftieth 
anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
  On April 17, 1961, 1,400 brave Cuban men landed along the beaches of 
the Bay of Pigs. Although the Brigade was outnumbered and out-supplied, 
it managed to inflict massive damages on Castro's military. Those brave 
fighters were a cross-section of Cuban society. They were doctors, 
students, and farmers. Some were only teenagers. They were supported by 
four brave Alabama pilots who ignored their superiors' orders to 
abandon the brigade and their mission. When the smoke cleared and the 
fighting ended, the survivors endured nearly two years of torture by 
some of the most sadistic, expertly trained torturers the world has 
ever known--on the direct orders of Cuba's cruel dictator.
  Today, that dictatorship is failing. When that oppressive regime 
finally dies, the Cuban people will be rid of the shackles that have 
burdened them for decades. The heroes of the Bay of Pigs invasion were 
early warriors in the struggle for the freedom of the Cuban people. 
History will remember them not only for their heroism on the beaches of 
Playa Giron, but also for their role in the ultimate liberation of the 
homeland of Jose Marti.
  The U.S. Congress is an especially fitting venue to commemorate a day 
of such importance to both Cuban and American history. It is 
appropriate that on this day, and in this place, we remember the Cuban 
people's call for a true democratic transition, the recognition of 
basic human rights, the adherence to the rule of law, those heroic 
freedom fighters of Brigade 2506 and the four brave Alabama pilots who 
refused to abandon their Cuban brothers. We free Americans must 
continue to stand with the long-suffering Cuban people at this critical 
time in their history.
  I humbly and with gratitude salute the brave patriots who attempted 
to liberate the Cuban people from tyranny fifty years ago. Their 
sacrifice, and their valor, will never be forgotten.

                          ____________________