Events

On Tuesday, February 25, the Military History Club of the Missouri Athletic Club turns its attention to the Caribbean as it welcomes a Zoom appearance by J J. Valdes, author of the recently released Besieged Beachhead: The Cold War Battle for Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.

Early on April 17, 1961, 1,400 men of Brigade 2506—Cuban exiles trained by the CIA in Guatemala—began landing at the Bay of Pigs, just over 100 miles southeast of Havana. Nearly everything went wrong. Boat engines failed. Coral reefs snarled landing craft. Castro’s planes destroyed ships carrying vital ammunition and medical supplies. Expected popular support within Cuba did not materialize. Khrushchev rattled the nuclear saber, spooking Kennedy from ordering assistance he was reluctant to provide anyway. Over the course of three days, the Brigade obstinately defended a rapidly shrinking beachhead, but the exiles—outnumbered and under supported —were no match for the air and ground forces Castro threw against them. By Ap

Please join me in welcoming historian and author Rona Simmons. Rona will be speaking about her newest book No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944 at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force on 26 February 2025. From Rona's Linkedin profile:

"Rona Simmons is an Atlanta-area based author and has written both historical fiction and works of nonfiction. After co-authoring the book Images from World War II (2016) celebrating the art of WWII veteran and artist Jack Smith, Simmons again turned to the Second World War for her latest book, The Other Veterans of World War II: Stories from Behind the Front Lines (2020) released by Kent State University Press. The daughter of a WWII fighter pilot herself, she is proud to honor veterans and their stories through her work.

"Simmons's writing, including stories, articles, and interviews, has appeared in regional and national literary journals and online and print magazines and newspapers. She is active in the local writing commun