The Acid Gambit section of this book barely scratches the surface of what transpired on the night of December 19–20, 1989. In a lexiconas vast as the English language, you’d think there would be a biggerword than “thanks.” Thanks is for lending that cup of sugar or watching the kids for a few hours. But to express appreciation for riskingeverything you will ever be and everything you will ever have to bring one man home to his family, words fail. Awe is a good beginning, perhaps.
I bestow special awe on the tactical units involved in my rescue and their supremely talented commanders: The soldiers who liberated me that evening came from the U.S. Army’s First Special Forces OperationalDetachment-Delta, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. A very special thanks to E, Delta’s Sabre Squadron commander, and G, the assault troop commander. The helicopters that braved withering ground fire to fly the Delta operators to and from Modelo Prison, and the Little Bird gunships supporting them, came from the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Air Regiment, based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.A special thanks to R, the company commander. The AC-130 Specter gunships that flew overhead, delivering a pinpoint and blisteringfire on Noriega’s headquarters, came from the U.S. Air Force’s SixteenthSpecial Operations Squadron, based in Hurlburt Field, Florida. A special thanks to M and J, who captained Air Papa 06 and Air Papa 07 from their specially designed Top Hat formation. God bless you all. Thanks for bringing me home. Our nation, and especially the Muse family, have reason to smile knowing that you are in its service.
During my formative years in Panamanian schools, I remember wondering at the lack of national heroes in a country so rich in colonialhistory. My seven friends and compatriots in La Voz de la Libertadrisked losing their lives, their property, and their livelihood in service of the dream that they would one day be free of the Pineapple’s oppression. They are true Panamanian heroes, and I pray that one day their fellow citizens will recognize them as such.
Six Minutes to Freedom is a slice of my family history. I look forwardto the day when my grandchildren, Connor Charles, Sydney Anne, and Sean Michael, can read this book on their own. Only then will they begin to understand the true character and the mettle of their mother, back in the day when she was an extraordinary kid named Kimberly, who cared so diligently for their Uncle Erik. By then, of course, they will have been lovingly spoiled by their Nini and Pops, and one day, they can introduce their own children to the story of how their family tried so hard to make a difference.
Authors’ Note
Six Minutes to Freedom is equal parts memoir and tribute.It is not, and should not be considered to be, the definitive history of this slice of time. SixMin, as we’ve come to refer to it among ourselves,is one man’s story; but we chose to tell it in the third person becauseKurt’s saga affected many people, and we wanted the freedom to portray their stories as equal to Kurt’s own.
For purposes of narrative clarity, some of the characters are in fact composites of several real people. Examples include the prison guards and the Delta operators. We feel that as long as we do not play fast and loose with the factual events, we can streamline the number of character names we throw at our readers.
Many of the players’ names have been changed. Most of the CIA operatives and all of the Delta Force operators who participated in the research for this book did so only on the condition that they remain anonymous. Thus, we took enormous liberties with their identities, in some cases creating characters from whole cloth to serve the roles of their anonymous counterparts. We made a point, in fact, to draw these characters in such a way that they are truly unrecognizable. We felt no compunction against making short people tall and transforming women into men and vice versa. It was the least we could do since some of the players are still actively involved in their ongoing mission to keep us all safe.
One of the hardest decisions was to change the names of Kurt’s coconspirators. It is Kurt’s choice to come forward with the details of this chapter in his life—of their lives—and out of respect for his friends and their families, we thought we owed them plausible deniability. While all of them willingly cooperated in the research for Six Minutes to Freedom, many still live in Panama among former PDF officers whose take on these patriots’ efforts to topple a dictator might be understandablybitter. The last thing we want to do is make their lives more difficultthan they’ve already been.
The final note involves dialogue, which we didn’t hesitate to create to serve the dramatic construct of a factual scene. For example, if our research turned up evidence in a diary or in an interview that “Colonel Smith greeted us cordially,” we portrayed that moment as a fleshed-out scene in a manner such as this: “Colonel Smith stood as they entered the room and extended his hand. ‘Good afternoon,’ he said.”
Call it dramatic license, if you will. Our intent is not to deceive the reader—again, the facts and tone of the conversations are real—but merely to make the story more enjoyable.
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