“JFK pulled the air support for the invasion ”
Bullcrap. One, seals didn’t exist yet Two, JFK did not “pull” air support. He told Dulles and the joint chiefs in advance that NO us forces would be used. The CIA and Chiefs cynically thought they could back him into a corner and force him to commit US forces.
They thought they could roll him. No air support was pulled because he told them straight out they weren’t getting it. And he had bigger things to worry about. Like if we invaded Cuba openly, with the Soviets take all of Berlin and WWIII start. And the Chiefs wanted that anyway.
He didn’t pull air support.
From Wikipedia
Origins
“Although not formally founded until 1962, the modern-day U.S. Navy SEALs trace their roots to World War II.[7] The United States Military recognized the need for the covert reconnaissance of landing beaches and coastal defenses. As a result, the joint Army, Marine Corps, and Navy Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida.[10] The Scouts and Raiders were formed in September of that year, just nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint U.S. Army-Marine-Navy unit.”
My co-worker joined the Navy when he was 18 and stayed four years, then went to college. When I knew him, he was the CEO of one of the largest paging companies in the world. He was fairly credible.
Since his service spanned the actual formation of the SEALS, I would suspect he was grandfathered in. After the Bay of Pigs, he focused on mixed gas diving.
I wish he was here to answer questions. I am not military nor do I follow the JFK plotline. I just thought I would pass on his story.
If I can find the book with the full flechette story in it, I will post it.