◆ SpookStack

Perhaps indicative of the Navy's sensitivity about its performance during the Bay of Pigs operation is the fact that the operational records of its participation were ordered destroyed, presumably at the direction of Admiral Burke. 21/ One source has indicated that the destruction of the records-- including "the operation order, the deck log, the navigation log, the combat information center log, the engineering log, everything"--was done in the incinerator of the Essex following the collapse of the invasion. 22/* If the performance by Navy air was less than admirable, it should be remembered that by D-Day military considerations had gone by the board in favor of political expediency as de- termined by the White House. That President Kennedy could have been unaware that the effort against Castro was in trouble from the. time the first B-26 went down and two of the supply ships were sunk., ·then he either was listening to the wrong ad- visers or was engaging in wishful thinking. Certainly McGeorge Bundy was well aware of the air problem and he was in close contact with key CIA personnel who were actively seeking air support from the Navy. That the President failed to authorize US intervention by USN air when there was still time to salvage ~ome, if not most, of the Brigade did nothing to deflect criticism of the US an an "interventionist"f and it did irreparable damage to US relations with the nations of Central America. * Destruction of these records was another item that never carne to the attention of the Taylor Committee. 290