On this Memorial Day, my grandfather is on my mind. In the early 1960's he was approached by the CIA and was asked to join a secret operation to fight Communists in the Congo. Without any military experience he was asked to fly a B26 and strafe people and specific targets in order to accomplish their mission.
Directing and producing a documentary about this story has helped me understand the exile experience on a whole new level. My grandfather had been forced out of Cuba and had to move his family to a brand new country (after hijacking a plane to get there!). I now understand that the pain and loss he suffered was so overwhelming that he chose to fly across the world to Africa, put himself in countless dangerous situations, and be away from his family for months at a time in order to fight the same type of tyranny that had forced him out of his homeland.
As Americans, we might not all agree on the necessity of all covert operations overseas, but today I am thinking about all of the men and women who have served this country as part of a covert operation, and who will never receive public acknowledgement or benefits (and who would probably never ask for it anyway).
To learn more about the documentary, join our Facebook page- www.facebook.com/asecretlegacy
Directing and producing a documentary about this story has helped me understand the exile experience on a whole new level. My grandfather had been forced out of Cuba and had to move his family to a brand new country (after hijacking a plane to get there!). I now understand that the pain and loss he suffered was so overwhelming that he chose to fly across the world to Africa, put himself in countless dangerous situations, and be away from his family for months at a time in order to fight the same type of tyranny that had forced him out of his homeland.
As Americans, we might not all agree on the necessity of all covert operations overseas, but today I am thinking about all of the men and women who have served this country as part of a covert operation, and who will never receive public acknowledgement or benefits (and who would probably never ask for it anyway).
To learn more about the documentary, join our Facebook page- www.facebook.com/asecretlegacy
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