When Jacksonville's Mike Frailey was young, he and his brothers loved living at and playing around Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, right up until the Cuban Missile Crisis, when everything changed.
After spy planes took photos showing Soviet nuclear missiles were being installed in Cuba, President John F. Kennedy ordered the blockade of the Communist country, as well as the evacuation of dependents and civilian employees from the American outpost at the island's southeastern tip.
"Higher authority," the letter said,"has directed the immediate evacuation of all dependents from the Naval Base ... Please do not ask questions or request exemptions. There is no time for that ... Please keep calm and carry out all directions given you. The buses are starting their run now. Get your suitcases and children and wait quietly in your front yard when ready. God bless you. We will miss you.
On the Upshur, mothers with young children were placed into crowded staterooms. Mike Frailey was old enough to be separated from the rest of this family; his berth would be with other boys below decks, in bunks stacked to the ceiling.With diary revealed, Jacksonville woman tells of reticent father's life as a POW in Germany
The Fraileys went to Jacksonville to live with family, returning to Guantanamo a few months later after the crisis had been averted.It felt different, he said. His dog, who had been left behind, didn't seem to recognize him. Their house had been used as barracks for reinforcing troops. Security was tighter, and Jeeps patrolled at night with bright lights on.
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