By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

Francisco was only 18 and Juliana 17 when the two young people fell in love in pre-Castro Cuba.

These were dangerous days, of course, but what does political upheaval have to do with two young people lost in each other? Many people noticed their love and assumed that, someday, perhaps soon, a wedding would be in the planning. As the Castro forces made headway, however, Juliana's family made a heartbreaking decision and left their homeland for the safety of the United States. Unable to immigrate, Francisco remained in Cuba as tumultuous events overtook the war-ravaged island nation.

With the Communists seizing control, everything changed overnight. Without warning, Francisco, along with thousands of young men in their teens, was pressed into service in Castro's military. Francisco knew that to decline to serve would bring severe retribution but the young man, who had grown up under a measure of liberty, adamantly refused to serve in Cuba's now-Communist army. He was arrested and sent to one of Castro's concentration camps where life was harsh and intolerable.

Day after day, Francisco thought about what had been lost, about Juliana, and about freedom. Upon hearing that a number of the young resisters were to be transferred to an even more brutal prison, Francisco and nine other young men decided to risk all in a bold, if foolhardy, escape plan. Somehow slipping out of the concentration camp, the ten made their way quickly to the coast and hurriedly fashioned a primitive raft. Then, without food or water, the desperate men clamored aboard the tiny craft and launched themselves toward Miami and the promise and hope of freedom.

Five days later, at the mercy of the winds and currents, they were still on the raft, which was falling apart in the rough waters of the Gulf. The men were sunburned, famished, dehydrated and terribly thirsty. Several men had painfully swollen feet from being in the water for so long.

The men searched the skyline for some sign of land. Yet, Miami was still some 25 miles away and the currents seemed to be taking them toward the wide expanse of the Atlantic and to an unheralded and watery grave.

On board the tanker Esso Huntington on a hot and muggy August day under a blazing sun, 3rd Mate Charles Owen Jr. was going about his duties when he noticed a strange object far off in the distance. After straining to identify the unknown object, the seaman made his way to the bridge. Owen notified the ship's captain, Ernest Palazini Jr. and, after the captain took a long look at the object, altered course and headed toward the horizon.

As they approached the object, ten weary but ecstatic men began waving madly on board their disintegrating raft. The Esso Huntington would be among the first of many ships that would eventually pull thousands of Cuban refugees from the perilous waters between Cuba and The United States. Four of the men from the raft had to be loaded onto the tanker in stretchers. All were in need of food, water, rest and medical attention. The rescued men were soon transferred to a Coast Guard cutter and were eventually taken to Miami.

Now in America, Francisco Gamboa searched for his beloved Juliana and located her in New Jersey. They were reunited and were married. Moving to Long Island, N.Y., the Spanish-speaking couple had two children, a girl and a boy, Odilia and Jose'. The family lived in several locations in those early years, working to survive and struggling with English.

Finally the family moved to North Carolina where Juliana learned the language of her adopted country with the help of factory coworkers and by watching episodes of "I Love Lucy."

Ultimately the family located to Miami where, after working three jobs for most of his time in America, Francisco found work with a large concrete company and worked his way up to manager of the parts department. The children grew up and eventually migrated to the growing area south of Atlanta. Odilia, who would become known to all as "Odie," served an enlistment in the United States Air Force and, after serving as a police officer in Kansas, took a position as an officer with the Peachtree City Police Department.

"Mom and Dad bought a piece of the American pie," said the pretty 20-something Odie in a recent interview. "Every day my parents impressed upon us the need to give thanks to God for the privilege of being in America. Sometimes," she continued, "people will ask me why I joined the military, why I became a police officer, and why I'm so patriotic. It's because," she choked, her voice breaking and her eyes brimming with tears," of my father and my mother. They have caused me to love this country."

On the evening of Aug. 11, just down the hill from the City Hall in Peachtree City, Ga., on the green banks of Lake Peachtree, Francisco Gamboa will escort his daughter between the rows of chairs amidst the smiling faces of both native-born and Cuban-born Americans. At the end of that short walk, he will present her to the waiting priest who will unite Odilia Gamboa and Ray Bergh in The sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

Juliana and Jose', along with friends and family members, will look on, and will smile, and will weep with tears of joy. At the end of the service, an honor guard from Odilia's Police Department will pay homage to the daughter of a man who refused to serve communism, as they cross swords for the radiant couple. And, not far in the distance, just up the hill by the fountain, the flag of the United States of America that has held so much promise for so many desperate freedom-loving people will fly silently in the warm summer breeze.

David Epps is rector of Christ the King Church in Peachtree City. E-mail FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or at visit www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.

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