Assault Brigade 2506 Sticker

On 17 April 1961, five battalions of CIA-trained and -armed Cuban paramilitary exiles known as the 2506 Brigade invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, intent on overthrowing the Castro Regime. The invasion was ultimately unsuccessful and over one hundred anti-communist rebels were killed, and the remainder captured by the end of the fighting on 20 April 1961. The failed Bay of Pigs invasion remains one of the defining moments of the Cold War. To this day, strong anti-Castro sentiment exists among the Cuban exile population in south Florida and elsewhere.

This three-inch wide sticker is a faithful reproduction of the unit patch issued to all 2506 Brigade members. The number 2506 was selected for the member number of Carlos Rafael Santana Estevez, the first volunteer to die during training for the fateful mission.