BIRMINGHAM AL- On April 19, service members of
the Alabama Air National Guard 117th maintenance group and the106th marked the 52nd anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion with a graveside remembrance
of 1st Class Lt. Pete Ray. Col. Scott
Grant, Commander 117th Maintenance Group, had previously been reacquainted with
the heroism and fascinating story of Alabama Air Guard volunteers when
attending the Guard's 90th anniversary. He then helped establish an
annual wreath laying ceremony at the Forest Hill Cemetery, now in its second
year, to mark the ultimate sacrifice and bravery in the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
The cemetery, next to the Birmingham Airport, overlooks the original Hayes
Aircraft Buildings and is across the runway from the AL ANG home base.
![]()
A group of Alabama volunteers were sent to secret CIA bases in Guatemala and Nicaragua to train Cuban exiles to fly Douglas B-26C bombers in support of the invasion forces. When the small group of exhausted pilots could no longer sustain the air battle, seven Alabama Guardsmen flew with them into combat on the final day of the invasion. Four of them in two B-26s were shot down and killed. The body of one of these men, Thomas W. "Pete" Ray, a 30 year old Center Point, Alabama pilot, remained in Cuba until 1978 where it was frozen as a war trophy and as evidence of U.S. complicity in the failed 1961 invasion.
The CIA posthumously awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Cross, its highest award for bravery to the four Alabama airmen killed at the Bay of Pigs, Leo Baker, Wade Gray, Riley Shamburger and Pete Ray. Only Pete's remains were returned home.
Maj. Hamaker, Chaplain USAF, gave a devotional and offered a prayer after Col. Grant spoke about the heroism of the mission volunteers. Lt. Col. Trent Mitchell, representing the 106th ARW, laid the wreath on the grave of Pete Ray in remembrance.
![]()
Following the ceremony, participants relocated to nearby Airport Inn, a very important part of the Bay of Pigs. During the sixties this neighborhood establishment was a popular hangout for Air Guardsman and Hayes pilots. Roy Wilson, then a Sargent and pilot, occasionally moonlighted as a bar tender there. He remembers listening to the Guardsman before leaving to go on the Cuban mission. Rumors of the training base down south were heating up. Wilson became one of the Bay of Pigs volunteers at the training base for exiles. A small shrine to another downed pilot, Riley Shamburger, is currently behind the bar.
![]()
-Col. Cliff James with Pete Wilson, a veteran and Bay of Pigs volunteer-
According to Col. Grant plans for the Bay of Pigs remembrance next year will include nose art for their KC-135 tanker depicting operations "40" and "Pluto", the missions of two B-26C that were shot down. Family members of Pete Ray will be invited to attend. B Meyer, FMI: http://www.117arw.ang.af.mil/history/ , The Bay of Pigs
A group of Alabama volunteers were sent to secret CIA bases in Guatemala and Nicaragua to train Cuban exiles to fly Douglas B-26C bombers in support of the invasion forces. When the small group of exhausted pilots could no longer sustain the air battle, seven Alabama Guardsmen flew with them into combat on the final day of the invasion. Four of them in two B-26s were shot down and killed. The body of one of these men, Thomas W. "Pete" Ray, a 30 year old Center Point, Alabama pilot, remained in Cuba until 1978 where it was frozen as a war trophy and as evidence of U.S. complicity in the failed 1961 invasion.
The CIA posthumously awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Cross, its highest award for bravery to the four Alabama airmen killed at the Bay of Pigs, Leo Baker, Wade Gray, Riley Shamburger and Pete Ray. Only Pete's remains were returned home.
Maj. Hamaker, Chaplain USAF, gave a devotional and offered a prayer after Col. Grant spoke about the heroism of the mission volunteers. Lt. Col. Trent Mitchell, representing the 106th ARW, laid the wreath on the grave of Pete Ray in remembrance.
Following the ceremony, participants relocated to nearby Airport Inn, a very important part of the Bay of Pigs. During the sixties this neighborhood establishment was a popular hangout for Air Guardsman and Hayes pilots. Roy Wilson, then a Sargent and pilot, occasionally moonlighted as a bar tender there. He remembers listening to the Guardsman before leaving to go on the Cuban mission. Rumors of the training base down south were heating up. Wilson became one of the Bay of Pigs volunteers at the training base for exiles. A small shrine to another downed pilot, Riley Shamburger, is currently behind the bar.
-Col. Cliff James with Pete Wilson, a veteran and Bay of Pigs volunteer-
According to Col. Grant plans for the Bay of Pigs remembrance next year will include nose art for their KC-135 tanker depicting operations "40" and "Pluto", the missions of two B-26C that were shot down. Family members of Pete Ray will be invited to attend. B Meyer, FMI: http://www.117arw.ang.af.mil/history/ , The Bay of Pigs