Southwest Florida’s Useppa Island was birthplace of Bay of Pigs invasion

The soldiers of the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion left their youth and innocence behind on this tropical paradise 58 years ago.

The 67 idealists prepared for battle here, only to find defeat and incarceration after their CIA-sponsored invasion of Cuba fell apart.

They were the elite of Assault Brigade 2506, and on Saturday, 18 of the graying veterans returned for a walk into the past and a look at an exhibit of the invasion.

“We lost the battle,″ said Mirto Collazo, 62, after walking through the exhibit in the Useppa Island historical society’s museum, right here in Southwest Florida. “But after 37 years, we keep the spirit alive with our hopes for a free Cuba.″

Some were killed and most of the others were imprisoned in Cuba after the 1961 invasion met stiff resistance.

Made up of Cuban exiles, the invasion force lost 104 members and more than 1,100 were jailed for 22 months until the Kennedy administration paid more than $50 million in food, medicine and cash for their release.

But they said the worst part was that their invasion served only to strengthen Fidel Castro and his newly installed communist government.

The role of Useppa in the invasion had been hidden in classified documents and the memories of the men who started their training on the lush and tropical island near Fort Myers on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The camouflage that Collazo wore in the invasion is part of the exhibit. He looked at his combat gear _ about 12 sizes too small for him today _ and wiped tears from his eyes.

While on Useppa, Collazo and the others went through rigorous screening by CIA agents. They came in groups and were sent on to Guatemala or Panama for training in secret camps.

Some became Brigade leaders. Others became radio operators trained to know top secret CIA codes. Still others in the “Useppa Group″ became covert infiltrators who landed weeks before the invasion force to try and gain popular support and perform sabotage missions.

“Here is where we sat and talked about how we were going to be home by December and eating roast pork for Christmas,″ said Jorge Rubio as he walked up a hill overlooking the shoreline.

Instead, most were in prison that December.

Promised air cover and bombings were stopped shortly after they started. Supply ships were sunk, leaving the exile invaders without critical equipment, ammunition and other necessities.

“When you go into battle thinking you will win, thinking you will be backed up, thinking you have righteousness on your side, you can die for the cause but you can’t lose,″ said Ramon Conte, a top leader and the last brigade member to be released by Cuba after more than 25 years.

The men from the Useppa Group walked around like kids at a playground. Some got up after lunch and made speeches in what was once their mess hall.

“We cannot leave Useppa without mentioning those who didn’t make it, but will always be with us,″ Jorge Gutierez said.

A roll call of the brigade’s dead was taken. With each name, the veterans bellowed a resounding “Present!″