Couple of things if I may,
Growing up in Gitmo?
I would think the fishing, diving, snorkeling, Etc
would make it an ideal place as a kid with time to goof off.
Add all the kool military stuff and WOW???
Also how tense was it there during the Pigs fiasco?
You’re right, it was a great place for kids and for families. Single sailors and marines didn’t like it that much.
Things were very tense during The Bay of Pigs, the Missile Crisis, and when Castro cut off our water supply. We were friends with a lot of Cubans, who would come over to the base to work, and with several who were refugees and lived on base. They unanimously hated Castro. On Christmas, the refugees on base would get together, drink themselves into oblivion, and cry on each others’ shoulders. Their beautiful nation had become a hellhole.
The Cubans would come work on base as laborers. Castro took their wages when they went home. But it was worth it to eat their meals on base and let their families eat off of their unused ration cards. We gave our maid a couple of tiny green army men as a Christmas gift for her kids. The guards at the gate found the toys, tied her up for the holidays, and beat her with their rifle butts day and night. She had several broken bones and a concussion when she came back after the holidays. For some unknown reason the wonderful Castro healthcare didn’t cover her injuries. The US Navy gave her treatment.