Wrightsville’s Al Chamlee (left) and Anderson, South Carolina’s Wilton E. Hall, Jr., both fresh out of the University of Georgia’s School of Journalism, wanted to cover an exciting developing story. And, in the hot summer of 1958, they found one. What could better than a story about a revolution? This revolution was coming to climax and it was only some 800 miles from Wrightsville. So, Chamlee and Hall, whose father who was a prominent newspaper editor and former United States Senator, set out to travel to the embattled Republic of Cuba to find and interview the celebrated Rebel leader, Fidel Castro.
Castro’s rag tag army of guerilla fighters defeated the Cuban army in the Battle of La Plata, which lasted from July 11 to July 21, 1958 and resulted in the capture of nearly half
of Batista’s regular Cuban army.
In a total reversal of momentum, Batista’s men nearly destroyed the 300-man Castro force at the Battle of Las Mercedes. Outmanned and outgunned, Castro sought out and was granted a temporary truce. During the one-week cease fire, nearly all of Castro’s beleaguered soldiers escaped into the protection of the mountains.
On August 21, 1958, when Batista’s offensive stalled, Castro (left) began to lauch counter attacks. In the Oriente province, Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl Castro launched a four-front attack with a new cache of weapons and won a major victory at Guisa.
Under the directions of the Rebel Army, which only allowed visitors one at the time, Hall traveled to the hills of Sierra Maestra, where he remained for about 18 hours. During that time, he spent 6 of those hours with Fidel Castro.
“Castro’s men were ill equipped and ill fed. They can not last more than 90 days,”
wrote Hall. Hall’s belief was based on the Cuban government’s recent acquisition of a
hundred million dollars in arms and equipment and a troop strength of 20 divisions in the
Oriente Province facing Castro’s 7000 under strength men.
After the meeting, Hall was escorted by Gino, a 20-year-old Cuban guard, through
jungle like forests on an overnight march to a prearranged rendevous with a rental car.
After three miles on the road, Hall and Gino ran into a routine traffic stop. A Cuban
sergeant noticed Hall’s thickening beard and his photographic equipment. After
interrogating Hall, the suspicious soldier escorted Hall and Gino to Manzanillo Prison.
Chamlee, who had arrived in Cuba three or four days ahead of Hall, was arrested in
his hotel room in the Sevielle-Biltmore Hotel. Military authorities had found Al’s name in
Hall’s brief case. Chamlee was taken to jail and placed in the same cell as his partner. No
food was allowed for at least 30 hours.
“The three of us were put in a 6-foot by 6-foot cell,” said Hall, who was brutally
questioned by commandant. “I could not answer in Spanish, They thought I knew it, but
just wouldn’t speak it,” added Wilton Hall.
Hall was hit several times by the Cuban officer with the back of his During a short
reprieve while Hall was not looking, the frustrated officer landed a hard punch in Hall’s
abdomen. Mercifully, the beatings stopped when the Cubans realized that Hall could not
speak Spanish. Hall attempted to convince the Cubans that he was just a journalist there
to interview Castro in violation of Cuban law. Hall, who was carrying a pilot’s license, tried
to convince his captors that he was just arriving in Cuba and not attempting to leave himself
or with Castro.
During the first night, Hall’s guide Gino was beaten to death in an adjoining cell by
Cuban goons.
After the intial interrogation, Hall and Chamlee were taken by plane to Bayamo
Prison in Havana, where they were interrogated by Lt. De La Uz, of the Cuban secret police.
After more than five hours of intense questioning, Hall was able to convince the lieutenant
that he and Chamlee were indeed newspapermen.
Cuban authorities finally agreed to release Hall and Chamblee. To insure their exile
from the country, the men were placed on the SS City of Havana under the guard of Lt. De
la Uz, and a machine gun bearing guard. As they approached the Florida Keys, Hall began
to show symptoms of a fever. Upon his arrival at Key West, Hall was sent to the care of a
physician, but continued to write and publish his memories of his clash with the Cuban
army.
Before he traveled to Cuba, Al Chamlee moved with his mother, Gay Chamlee to
Wrightsville where he became a friend and idol of Loran Smith, Wrightsville native,
football color commentator, sideline analyst, and purveyor of all things of University of
Georgia athletics.
Smith(left) recently wrote, “What we would come to appreciate about Al was his speed and quickness on the football field. Most of us where heavy-footed country boys, imbued with a work ethic which allowed us to last in competition, but we could not affect its outcome like Al, who had winged feet—at least compared to the rest of us. He had magical cleats. He glided effortlessly with alacrity and aplomb.”
A local man associated with LSU football arranged for the team to take a look at
Chamlee. Satisfied that the speedster could help their program, Al was signed to a
scholarship, then known as a “grant in aid.” There was a guy who had moved to town with
ties to LSU. When I got to know Paul Dietzel, he remembered Al as a player with
“halfbacking excellence.”
Smith recalled, “Before Herschel, the most talked about player in Wrightsville’s
modest-at-best sports history was Al Chamlee, the first from the seat of Johnson County to
be given a full scholarship to play SEC football. Al didn’t have Herschel’s size and speed, but he was a fluid broken-field runner who once scored five touchdowns in a game against
Cochran. He was our Friday Night Lights hero”.
Smith, an expert on Southern football, firmly believes that if Al had not been injured
in a swing accident, that he would have been a star with LSU along with the iconic Billy
Cannon and a member of the 1958 National Championship team. When Al left LSU to
pursue journalism, he roomed with Smith. Chamlee worked for a time with the
Wrightsville Headlight before setting off to see the world.
After he returned from Cuba, Chamlee took public relations jobs with International
Paper Co. His life took on meaning and direction and Ciba Geigy in Mobile.
Al Chamlee died last May 24, two months shy of his 80th birthday. Loran Smith, who
spoke with his good friend a few weeks before commented on his death by saying, “Al
Chamlee was the first star athlete I ever knew. The sadness is overwhelming.”
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