History | The Port Rail

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Bay of Pigs, Part Two, The Boys from Birmingham Training the Cuban Exile Pilots

August 14, 2023

Who were the Alabama Air National Guardsmen and what was their role in the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in April 1961? After the decision was made to invade Cuba and remove Castro, anti-Castro Cuban exiles were trained to do the invasion and fighting and make it seem as it was totally a […]

Bay of Pigs, Part Three, The Boys from Birmingham

August 11, 2023

Who were some of the veterans and what was their story from the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in April, 1961 at the Bay of Pigs? Joe Shannon who we met in an earlier column on the Bay of Pigs was a veteran of the Second World War. He began flying in Birmingham […]

America’s Jewish Pilots in the Making of Modern Israel

July 5, 2023

Not too long ago I ran across a documentary movie made by Spielberg, not the guy you are familiar with—Steven—but his sister, Nancy. It was called Above and Beyond. Most American Jews were interested in what was going on in the founding of modern Israel in 1948. Some, as Above and Beyond tells it, did […]

On Patriotism

May 9, 2023

Not too long ago a friend of mine, Susan Warner, asked me if patriotism was out of form. Her husband, Jack Warner, now deceased, was a veteran of the Burma theater in the Second World War and he loved this country. Then on Sunday April 16, I read a piece in the Wall Street Journal […]

The Banana Republics

May 4, 2023

Some of you may be wondering what a “banana republic” is. You can look it up in Wikipedia but be careful, since the first definition that pops up is to an upscale clothing store with lots of boobs and legs, although there are other outfits marketed for everybody from babies to men. Keep on scrolling […]

Doctors, Pilots, and Equity, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Infecting Our Land and People

May 4, 2023

Let’s start out with a simple decision most of us have to make at one time or another. I don’t know about you, but if I am flying or having surgery, I want someone qualified by training and ability to handle the cockpit or the scalpel. I certainly don’t want someone who is there because […]

Back in the Days…

May 3, 2023

Old timers today tend to extol the virtues of when they were young, and the world was right. We all do it, perhaps exaggerating the virtues of our world and the vices in today’s world. I was reminded of this great old world as I started to convert my huge file of 35mm slides I […]

Bartolomé de las Casas and the Popes

January 6, 2023

Bartolomé de las Casas and the Popes The recent passing of Pope Benedict, his memorials, and burial earlier in January 2023, brought to mind another Catholic prelate, hardly known in the twenty first century. He was however an iconic figure of his age in the sixteenth century, a man of Christian wisdom and strength, someone […]

Little Venice, or Venezuela Yesterday and Today

December 2, 2022

That’s the origins of Venezuela’s name, “Little Venice.” And for you journalist mavens here’s your quick quiz of the week, right up front. Who is the most famous man in Venezuela or her history? A. Nicolas Maduro, B. Hugo Chávez, C. Simón Bolívar, D. Fidel Castro. Any choice but Simón Bolívar is wrong, really wrong. […]

Lesson from the Apostle Paul

November 24, 2022

How many times have you done or said something wrong? If you are not in this category of humankind, just quit reading and continue with your cup of coffee or glass of wine. If you have done or said something wrong, keep reading. There are two questions you need to answer: 1. What did I […]