This link may help: <https://www.historynet.

com/the-invasion-of-cuba/>
Michael J. Krawczyk DMOR

From: Robert Gilbert rfg18775@gmail.com. I think Grenall  is referring to the 506th mission to
jump in on the Caracas, Venezuela airport to rescue Nixon who was being threatened by
guerillas on May 13-14, 1958. Charlie and Delta were the division alert companies that week. I
joined Charlie Company two weeks after the mission in early June, but I vividly recall the stories
about the problem with the flying ammo crates and unbuckled down troopers on the way to
Ramey AFB, Puerto-Rico (not Cuba). The task force was scheduled to jump on the Caracas
airport at 2 am on the 14th but the mission was aborted the night of the 13th when Nixon's
plane landed at Ramey and the crisis was over. This is one of the "six crises" Nixon wrote about
in his book.

From CSM (Ret.) Robert  F. Gilbert. Reference the e-mail from Charles Greenall.  He may have
dates, time and locations mixed up. During May 1958 Vice President Nixon and his Party were
trapped in a Hotel overseas by Communists. The 506th was standing an annual Commanding
General inspection for General William Westmoreland. He was in Charlie Company 506th
inspecting them and we in Delta Company were next. I was in Delta Company and had just
reported our Delta Company Weapons Platoon to a Lt. Colonel preceding General
Westmoreland , when First Sgt Theron Gergen came down the hallway yelling "Gilbert, roll it
up,  we have to be on the Airstrip in15 minutes," ( something we were well rehearsed for .) 

The Lt. Colonel had gone past our Antitank Section by then and turned to ask me ,"What did the
1st Sgt say" I excused myself from him by saying, “the balloons up Sir," and told my Platoon to
roll up their field bunk displays ASAP and moved them to our parking lot to board open top
tractor trailers which took us to Fort Campbell Army Airfield where a slew of C-130's were
parked side-by-side with their engines turning those propellers and ready for takeoff. 

I thought to myself, this is the first time Division has carried out any of our routine Cold War
alerts this far for our units , when a 3/4 Ton Truck with some of the 506th S-4 people on board
pulled up next to a C-130 in front of us and began offloading crates of ammunition onto the
lowered tailgate of a C-130 in front of our formation. This obviously was not a routine alert. 

We loaded the C-130's and took off for an unknown destination. We landed at an unknown
airfield somewhere in Florida to refuel, and were warned to not get off the Aircraft because we
would probably be shot. I suspected this might be an Army or CIA base for training Cubans to
invade Castro's Cuba . When the aircraft took off again our Company Commander  Captain
Y.Y. Phillips was talking, I think from his aircraft, to all of Delta Company 506th  planes over the
aircraft speaker systems .

We were informed that Charlie and Delta Companies of the "Currahee" 506th were going into
Ramey Air Force Base and a Navy Base at Roosevelt Roads Naval Air Station , and marshal for a
combat jump on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela to rescue Vice President Nixon and his
Party from Venezuelan Communists who had them trapped in a Hotel in Caracas . 
The following morning, I began inspecting the boxes of many different types of ammunition
stacked up outside the hangers we slept in. Being a former machine gunner, I had no idea how
many of the new M-60 machine guns each Platoon had and asked a master sgt. When he
responded I told him there was enough ammunition for one belt for each machine gun. He
moved out to confirm that.

I was later sitting on my folding cot. The Air Force folks had done a great job putting them
together in a large hanger for us, when a young rifleman approached me with his weapon. He
was his platoon's sniper and asked me if I could teach him how to zero that weapon. I did know
that (at least in our company) those weapons never left their platoon arms rooms.

I was a believer in the Chain of Command. I asked the soldier, who I did not know personally, if
he knew I was the Heavy Weapons' Platoon Sergeant. He responded affirmatively. I asked him if
he had asked his squad leader to show him how to zero the Sniper Rifle since he was going to
the range and he responded his squad leader did not know.  Then I asked if he had asked his
platoon sergeant (at that time in grade E-7 master sergeant) and he responded "he doesn't
know either." Knowing we had about 4 new military academy 2nd lieutenants assigned then or
later, I asked if he had asked his platoon leader for help.

His response left me speechless for a moment. He said his platoon leader sent him to see me
for help because "I was an Old Soldier." After that, I discussed with him how to zero the weapon
and advised using a target over 1,000 yards if possible .He said the Air Force only has an 800-
yard Range. After recommending he sight the weapon and its sight using the Planet Jupiter – I
had to explain the reason why, he left thanking me .

Later that night when most of the Soldiers were watching a movie, I was standing alone in the
hanger door observing incoming flights. I noticed one aircraft incoming that caught my
attention for multiple reasons as it landed rolling past where I was standing and came to a stop
at a different hanger off to my right. It seemed like hundreds of camera flash bulbs were going
off repeatedly. I concluded our Vice President had somehow escaped the Communists in
Venezuela. 

Moments later Captain Y.Y. Phillips came by to speak with me. I told him my conclusions
concerning VP Nixon while pointing at the continuous camera flash bulbs going off. He
muttered, "I need to go and check on that." It was approximately 2100 hours . We were either
scheduled to jump on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela at 0100 or take off at that time for
the one-hour flight to that nation.

Less than 15 minutes later, the movie Soldiers were watching was cut off and a loudspeaker
announced the jump was called off and we would be returning to Fort Campbell, KY the next
morning. A loud cheering followed from Charlie and Delta Currahees.
I Jump Mastered my aircraft over Yamoto DZ after that long flight from Ramey AFB, to Fort
Campbell and landed where the current day 506th is billeted, to the sound of the Division Band.

From Hugh Hagan, 2nd Plt. A Co. 506th ABG. The story concerning Cuba, Castro and Russia's
Khrushchev happened during October 1962 four and a half years later. With a different
company commander who was also another great officer, I went to the Division War Room with
him , where someone tried to prevent me from going in there because I was a Staff Sergeant, E-
6 . My CO, a huge black officer who graduated from high school at age 15 and was a former
corporal in the 82nd Airborne, announced very loudly, “this is my Weapons Platoon Leader."
Then we went in to view the low & high oblique air photos of the Russian missile sites in Cuba
and their barracks for the infantry guarding them. We never left Fort Campbell over Cuba
because our President, John Kennedy, surrounded the place with the U.S. Naval Ships and laid
on an Airborne invasion that made Khrushchev quit aiming those missiles at the USA. 

What I remember about that day was. It started with the company waiting for a full field
inspection by the Division Commander General Westmoreland. All our gear was laid out on our
bunks, M1 rifle was broken down and the rest of our equipment was neatly laid out on the
bunk.

Our platoon leader Lt. Howard Boose rushed into the squad room and told us that we were in
the deployment phase of an alert. He told us we had 15 minutes to pack up our gear and be on
the company street ready to go. All phone service was shut down and nobody could contact
anyone. We were no sooner on the company street that the 2 1/2 ton trucks started arriving.
The company loaded up and we were on our way to the airfield. At the airfield we picked up
our parachutes and headed out to the tarmac. There were more trucks there loaded with
ammo and grenades, which were quickly loaded on. All of us got really serious and we realized
this was no drill. If you remember the Air Force would not even allow blanks on board on
maneuvers. We had to hide them in our equipment.

We were loaded on the C130s and took off right away, still had no idea where we were going.
Not sure how long the flight time was but I think it was between 6 to 7 hours before we landed.
When we got off the plane we found out we were at Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico. We went to a
big hanger, A Company, 506th ABG were the first to arrive; the NCOs broke us down into our
regular platoons and squads and brought in some other men to reinforce the platoon. They
explained that we could be deployed to the objective within the next few hours.

I remember looking up at a war room off the hanger floor and you could see Gen.
Westmoreland and the Co. Officers going over the plan of attack. The NCOs’ were mostly
Korean vets and assured us that our training would bring us through and just follow their
orders. One of the lessons learned was that the AF did not have enough airplanes to rapidly
deploy the amount of troops needed. Planes were making round trip flights. Troops were still
arriving the next morning. One plane hit a patch of rough weather and the troops were tossed
all over the plane. The Medic had to stitch men up control some of the bleeding, he himself had
to have someone wrap a bandage around his head, He still did his job and took care of the
injured. Not sure what the plan was but the NCOs’ figured we would probably jump onto the
airfield and secure the airfield. We did stand down sometime that night and we were able to
get some rest. The next morning the AF fed us breakfast. Orders came down that we would be
returning to Ft. Campbell that day. We reloaded the ammo and grenades back on the C130s
and took off for home. Sometime during the flight word came down that Gen. Westmoreland
decided we would jump back into Ft. Campbell. He probably got some advice from the other
officers’ that the chutes would have to be all repacked anyway so might as well use them for a
jump. Not sure but it was said that at that time it was the longest flight before a jump ever.
(Maybe someone can check that) Don’t know how many troopers jumped but I think the whole
506th ABG did.

Hope this will help you, but you’re right not too much has ever been noted or said about it.