Through a driving rain that swept the Cuban coast, 2,100 U.S. Marines stormed into Guantanamo Bay, the tiny U.S. military base that perches like a lighthouse on the eastern tip of Fidel Castro's island fortress.
Most landed by helicopter from seaborne troop carriers, but a quarter of the force hit the beach in more classic Marine style, splashing ashore aboard tracked amphibious vehicles. Though their rifles, tanks and howitzers were unloaded—no live ammunition was carried throughout the operation—their performance was intended by Jimmy Carter to be a firm and well-publicized demonstration of Washington's concern about the presence of a...
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