7,131 views Jun 10, 2023

The week of April 25, 1965, seemed like any other - until fighting broke out in the capital city of the Dominican Republic. Without warning, violence engulfed all quarters of Santo Domingo as Communist rebels launched a surprise attack, firing from building to building and spreading terror throughout the city.

Countless civilians sought refuge in the Embajador Hotel, anxiously awaiting their turn to be evacuated to US Navy ships. Many of them endured days without food or water for days, and while they waited, they could only lie on the ground and listen to the unnerving sound of bullets whizzing overhead.

By the end of the week, the US military had deployed thousands of soldiers and Marines to the Caribbean, and the 82nd Airborne Division had sustained its first combat casualties since World War 2. But despite the chaos and loss, one thing was certain: there would not be another Cuba…

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