15-04-2025
Douglas A-26 Invader flies to Birmingham ahead of Bay of Pigs invasion commemoration
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A bit of history flew into Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport on Monday afternoon. A rare Douglas A-26 Invader landed at the airport ahead of Tuesday's commemoration of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
'They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but an experience is worth a thousand pictures,' Million Air CEO Roger Woolsey said.
Sixty-four years ago, four airmen from the Alabama Air National Guard died in the failed operation on the coast of Cuba in a mission known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Ron Fogleman was a part of the flight on the A-26. He said people must honor those who came before to keep the 'warrior spirit' in today's force.
'You see a grandparent bringing a grandchild out, talking about the airplane and this sort of thing,' Fogleman said. 'It's that intergenerational thing that really makes it work. That's the beauty of this airplane. It's like a magnet.'
The company that flew the A-26 in, Million Air, said it loves to honor the past and bring it to the present.
'We have freedoms today because of people like that who were selfless, sacrificed and a lot of time are forgotten and, in this case, the Bay of Pigs,' Woolsey said. 'They had to be silent for what, 17,19 years? Couldn't even tell their families what had happened to them. They thought they were in an accident in the Caribbean.'
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Janet Ray is one of those families. Her dad, Pete Ray, was one of the four airmen from the Alabama Air National Guard killed in the Bay of Pigs. After finding out how he actually died, Janet Ray said she learned then-Cuba President Fidel Castro was keeping her father's body on display. She started her fight with the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. government to bring her father's body home.
'When I got him out of Cuba in 1979 after 18 years in a morgue on display, the CIA said, 'We can bury him in Arlington,'' Janet Ray said. 'I said 'No, he's a Southern boy. He's going home to Alabama.' He's buried at Forest Hill, and he overlooks the airport, the air guard and the hill that went to his house in Tarrant. He's home.'
A commemoration ceremony will be held honoring the lives of Leo Baker, Wade Gray, Pete Ray and Riley Shamburger on Tuesday. The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. at Pete Ray's grave. The A-26 will perform a flyover as part of the ceremony.
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