ANN CURRY: A CUBAN EXILE WHO WAS SENT UNACCOMPANIED TO THE U.S. AT ONLY 9 YEARS OLD... MAN: I REMEMBER SITTING IN THAT AREA AND JUST CRYING, SOBBING CRYING-- THAT KIND OF CRYING.

CURRY: YEARNING TO RECONNECT WITH THE LOVING FAMILY THAT GAVE HIM A HOME.

THERE ISN'T ANY TIME THAT I DON'T THINK ABOUT THEM IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

I MEAN, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO.

CURRY: AND A FIREFIGHTER WHO RISKED HIS LIFE, ALONG WITH HIS FAMILY, TO FLEE CASTRO'S CUBA... SECOND MAN: IT WAS VERY SCARY BECAUSE THE WAVES HAD TO BE SEVERAL FEET.

I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DROWN.

I REALLY FELT LIKE THIS IS IT.

CURRY: SEARCHING FOR THE HEROIC BOAT CAPTAIN WHO BROUGHT THEM ALL TO SAFETY.

I WANT TO JUST GIVE HIM A HUG AND SAY THANK YOU BECAUSE I BELIEVE HE SAVED MY LIFE.

CHARLIE PUTH: ♪ WE'VE COME A LONG WAY... ♪ CURRY: THE TIDES OF HISTORY HAVE THROWN STRANGERS TOGETHER... PUTH: ♪ ...TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT WHEN I'LL SEE... ♪ CURRY: AND TORN LOVED ONES APART.

PUTH: ♪ WHEN I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN ♪ CURRY: NOW THE SEARCH IS ON... TALK ABOUT WOW.

COME HERE, SIR.

HA HA!

CURRY: TO BRING THEM TOGETHER AGAIN.

LET ME GIVE YOU A HUG.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

YEAH.

YOU AIN'T KIDDING!

WOMAN: OH, IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU!

PUTH: ♪ WHEN I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN ♪ IN 1959, FIDEL CASTRO SEIZED POWER, CHANGING THE LIVES AND CASTING A SHADOW ON THE CUBAN PEOPLE, NOT LEAST TWO YOUNG BOYS.

THOUGH SEPARATED BY DECADES, THEY SHARE STORIES OF FLEEING DANGER, HARROWING JOURNEYS, AND EVERYDAY HEROES WHO PROTECTED THEM AND GAVE THEM HOPE.

NELSON: HERE IS A COLLECTION OF SOME OF THE PHOTOS THAT HAVE SURVIVED.

MY HISTORY AS A CHILD IN CUBA, MY HISTORY AS AN IMMIGRANT-- THEY'VE SURVIVED, REALLY, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN MOVED AROUND SO MANY TIMES.

CURRY: NELSON FIGUERAS LIVES IN NEW YORK, A PROUD FATHER OF TWO, AND GRANDFATHER OF FOUR.

BUT NELSON'S OWN CHILDHOOD CONTAINS A MISSING PIECE HE HAS SPENT YEARS TRYING TO FIND.

NELSON: THAT WAS MY YOUNGER BROTHER, AND THIS ONE WITH THE BARE BUM IS ME.

CURRY: NELSON GREW UP IN CUBA DURING THE 1950S.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER OF YOUR EARLIEST YEARS IN CUBA?

NELSON: MY MOTHER ALWAYS WORKED, SHE WAS A NURSE, AND WORKED AT TWO DIFFERENT HOSPITALS IN THE MORNING AND IN THE EVENING.

MY FATHER, ON THE OTHER HAND, WAS IN THE SCENE VERY LITTLE.

CURRY: HE'S NAMED AFTER HIS FATHER, NELSON FIGUERAS, A REVOLUTIONARY INVOLVED IN AN UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT TO OVERTHROW THE OPPRESSIVE DICTATORSHIP OF FULGENCIO BATISTA.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS] IN 1952, BATISTA HAD SEIZED POWER IN A MILITARY COUP, SUSPENDING THE CONSTITUTION AND CANCELING ELECTIONS.

THIS IS MY FATHER.

HE REALLY BELIEVED IN FREEDOM FOR THE PEOPLE, DEMOCRACY, FOR THOSE SORT OF VALUES.

AND HE DIDN'T GIVE UP ON IT.

CURRY: NELSON'S FATHER WAS SO COMMITTED TO THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION THAT HE RARELY SAW HIS OWN CHILDREN.

NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: CUBAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS IN EXILE WORK FEVERISHLY TO RAISE FUNDS AND TO BUY ARMS TO FIGHT BATISTA.

CURRY: BUT HIS ACTIVITIES HAD A FRIGHTENING IMPACT ON NELSON'S CHILDHOOD, AS BATISTA'S GOVERNMENT CRACKED DOWN HARD ON ANY DISSIDENTS.

NELSON: ONE TIME--WE MUST HAVE BEEN 4 OR 5-- WE WERE IN THE BATHROOM, WE WERE BEING GIVEN OUR SHOWERS, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE DOORS STORMED.

THERE WAS A BUNCH OF ARMY MEN WITH GUNS AND THE UNIFORMS.

US BEING WRAPPED IN TOWELS AND TAKEN ACROSS THE STREET TO A NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE, I DO REMEMBER THE MEN WERE LOOKING FOR WHAT THEY THOUGHT WERE HIDDEN ARMAMENTS AND WEAPONS.

CURRY: HIS FATHER WAS INSPIRED BY THE PROMISES OF A YOUNG MAN NAMED FIDEL CASTRO, WHO ROSE TO BECOME A LEADER OF THE ARMED REVOLT AGAINST BATISTA'S DICTATORSHIP.

ON JANUARY 1, 1959, ON A WAVE OF POPULIST SUPPORT, THE REVOLUTIONARIES FINALLY OVERTHREW BATISTA AND SWEPT CASTRO TO POWER.

[MUSIC PLAYING] NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: THE REVOLUTION IS OVER.

ORDER HAS RETURNED TO HAVANA, BUT ENTHUSIASM AND FERVOR STILL FILL THE AIR.

NELSON: WHEN THE REVOLUTION TRIUMPHED, IT WAS A REJOICING NATIONALLY.

I REMEMBER WITH MY MOTHER GOING THROUGH SOME OF THE STREETS WHERE THE CHILDREN-- WE WERE EXCITED BY IT.

FLAGS WAVING, PEOPLE SHOOTING GUNS IN THE AIR.

THE TANKS, THE JEEPS WITH THE MILITIAMEN COMING DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS.

NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: HAVANA'S OVATION FOR FIDEL CASTRO HIMSELF HAD BEEN LONG DEFERRED.

EVERY TOWN AND HAMLET, A CHEERING WELCOME GREETED THE REBEL LEADER.

SO, IT WAS A MOMENT OF REJOICING FOR MOST OF THE POPULATION.

AND SHORTLY AFTER, THERE'S A KNOCK AT THE DOOR.

I GO TO ANSWER THE DOOR, AND THAT'S WHEN I NEXT SEE MY FATHER.

I WAS STUNNED, BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS HIM, BUT I WASN'T EVEN SURE WHO HE WAS, SO I WENT TO GET MY MOTHER.

IT WAS A HAPPY DAY BECAUSE HE WAS BACK AFTER BEING ABSENT FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS.

HE HAD A JEEP, SO IT WAS A FUN DAY AROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE, MY MOTHER AND HIM TOGETHER.

THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN WHERE YOU COULD SEE THE RAVAGES OF THE WAR-- TANKS.

THAT'S US PLAYING ON THEM.

CURRY: BUT THE HOMECOMING DIDN'T LAST.

THE DEMOCRACY THAT HIS FATHER HAD BEEN FIGHTING FOR FAILED TO MATERIALIZE.

AS CASTRO ALLIED HIMSELF WITH COMMUNISM, ARRESTS WITHOUT TRIAL AND SUMMARY EXECUTIONS WERE USED TO SUPPRESS ANY DISSENT.

WITHIN MONTHS, NELSON'S FATHER DISAPPEARED TO FIGHT ANOTHER REVOLUTION AGAINST THE VERY MAN HE HAD HELPED BRING TO POWER.

THE NEXT TIME NELSON SAW HIS FATHER, HE WAS FACING EXECUTION.

NELSON: WHEN MY FATHER WAS TRIED, IF YOU CALLED IT A TRIAL, HE WAS CHARGED FOR WORKING AGAINST THE STATE.

AFTER THE TRIBUNAL, THEY WERE TOLD THAT ALL OF THEM WERE GOING TO BE RETURNED TO THEIR CELLS, EXCEPT FOR MY FATHER, WHO WAS GOING TO BE SHOT IN THE MORNING.

NELSON: I REMEMBER EVERYBODY BEING UP, THE CRYING.

AND THEN MY FATHER WAS EXECUTED THE FOLLOWING DAY.

MY FATHER'S BIGGEST FEAR WAS THAT WE WOULD END UP BEING INDOCTRINATED IN A COMMUNIST SYSTEM, A COMMUNIST ENVIRONMENT.

SO, BEFORE HIS EXECUTION, HE PRESSED MY MOTHER TO GET US OUT OF THE COUNTRY HOWEVER SHE COULD.

[BIRDS CHIRPING] CURRY: BY THE LATE 1970S, TWO DECADES AFTER NELSON'S FATHER WAS EXECUTED, CASTRO WAS STILL IN POWER.

IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED, ALL MAJOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY WAS NATIONALIZED AND INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS HAD LED TO WIDESPREAD POVERTY.

NEWS BECAME STATE-CONTROLLED WITH POLICE BEATINGS AND ARBITRARY DETENTIONS USED TO SUPPRESS ANY PUBLIC DISSENT.

ANOTHER YOUNG BOY, 14-YEAR-OLD JUAN DIAZ, HAD SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE UNDER CASTRO'S RULE.

CURRY: SO TELL ME WHAT YOU CAN REMEMBER ABOUT GROWING UP IN CASTRO'S CUBA.

JUAN: I REMEMBER WE WERE VERY POOR.

WE LIVED IN AN APARTMENT IN HAVANA, AND IT WAS JUST A ONE-BEDROOM.

THERE WAS FIVE OF US, PLUS MY GRANDMOTHER, SO THERE WAS SIX OF US THAT LIVED IN A ONE-BEDROOM.

SO IT WAS A STRUGGLE JUST FOR THE BASIC NECESSITIES.

YOU WOULD GO TO THE CUBAN STORE OR THE MARKET, AND THERE WAS NO RICE, THERE WAS NO BREAD, THERE WAS NO EGGS.

AND SO THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE STRUGGLING.

AND GROWING UP IN CUBA, YOU WERE FORCED TO BE IN THE--WHAT THEY CALLED THE PIONEERS OF THE REVOLUTION, AND YOU WOULD WEAR THE CUBAN UNIFORM, AND YOU HAD TO WEAR A RED BANDANA AROUND YOUR NECK.

I NEVER WORE ONE IN THE SCHOOL.

AND ALL THE TEACHERS AND EVERYBODY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD KNEW THAT OUR FAMILY WAS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT.

AND MY DAD WOULD ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE BBC FROM LONDON ON A SHORTWAVE RADIO-- VERY QUIETLY-- BECAUSE THAT WASN'T ALLOWED TO DO, TO LISTEN TO NEWS FROM OUTSIDE OF WHAT OTHERWISE WAS VERY MUCH A CUBAN COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA.

SO I GREW UP KNOWING THROUGH MY PARENTS THAT THE OUTSIDE WORLD WAS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT WAS PAINTING IT TO BE.

YOUR FAMILY WAS RISKY IN ITS DEFIANCE.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND I WAS SCARED OF THE CUBAN POLICE BECAUSE THEY WERE SO OPPRESSIVE, AND I SEEN WHEN PEOPLE GOT BEAT UP, AND I SEEN THAT WITH MY OWN EYES IN HAVANA.

YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION.

CURRY: AS JUAN APPROACHED HIS 15TH BIRTHDAY, THE THREAT OF BEING FORCED INTO CASTRO'S MILITARY LOOMED.

JUAN: IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A PRESSURE COOKER IS HOW MY DAD DESCRIBED IT.

BECAUSE THERE WAS NO QUESTION IN OUR FAMILY THAT I WAS GOING TO JOIN THE MILITARY BECAUSE WE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN THE SYSTEM.

SO THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE WAS TO ESCAPE CUBA SOMEHOW, OR I WOULD GO TO JAIL, AND I WAS MENTALLY PREPARED.

CURRY: ON APRIL 1, 1980, JUAN'S FAMILY FOUND A WAY OUT.

A BUS HAD BEEN DRIVEN THROUGH THE GATES OF THE PERUVIAN EMBASSY IN HAVANA BY CUBANS DESPERATE TO SEEK ASYLUM.

OFFICIALS KEPT THE PRESS AWAY, BUT WORD SPREAD QUICKLY.

JUAN: MY DAD CAME HOME FROM WORK, AND HE TOLD MY MOM, "WE HAVE TO GO.

THIS IS OUR CHANCE."

WE GOT TO THE EMBASSY RIGHT AROUND MIDNIGHT.

THERE WAS LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WALKING WHEN WE GOT TO THE EMBASSY, THEY WERE JUST JUMPING THE FENCE.

AND MY DAD, HE TOLD ME, "JUMP.

LET'S GO."

AND THEN HE HANDED OVER MY LITTLE SISTER, AND THEN MY OLDER SISTER JUMPED, AND THEN MY MOM AND THEN HE JUMPED THE FENCE.

CURRY: BY APRIL 6TH, MORE THAN 10,000 CUBANS HAD STORMED THE EMBASSY, ALL HOPING TO ESCAPE CUBA.

JUAN: THERE WAS NO FOOD, THERE WAS NO WATER.

SO YOU'RE SAYING IT REALLY BECAME-- OH, IT WAS A CRISIS.

AN EMERGENCY-- THERE WERE NO RESTROOM FACILITIES.

PEOPLE WERE LITERALLY ELBOW TO ELBOW.

[PEOPLE SPEAKING EXCITEDLY] CURRY: WITH SO MANY PEOPLE LIVING IN TERRIBLE CONDITIONS, CASTRO WAS FACING A POLITICAL EMBARRASSMENT.

THE SHEER NUMBERS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO LEAVE HIS REGIME HAD ECHOED ANOTHER MASS EXODUS 20 YEARS BEFORE.

IN 1961, AFTER NELSON'S FATHER WAS EXECUTED, HIS MOTHER WAS DETERMINED TO FOLLOW HIS WISHES AND GET THE CHILDREN OUT OF CUBA AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

NELSON: AT THAT TIME, OUR HOME WAS WATCHED.

EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD HAD WHAT THEY CALLED A COMITÉ DE DEFENSA, OR "A COMMITTEE OF DEFENSE," WHICH WAS BASICALLY NEIGHBORS SNITCHING ON EACH OTHER.

THAT WAS THE CLIMATE AT THE TIME.

PEOPLE COULDN'T TELL THEIR NEIGHBORS THAT THEY WERE GOING TO EMIGRATE, THAT THEY WERE PLANNING TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS] CURRY: BETWEEN 1960 AND 1962, AN UNOFFICIAL ESCAPE ROUTE EMERGED.

TO MAKE IT EASIER TO GET CHILDREN OUT OF THE COUNTRY, CATHOLIC CHARITIES IN FLORIDA PERSUADED THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO ORGANIZE VISA WAIVERS FOR UNACCOMPANIED CUBAN CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18.

NICKNAMED OPERATION PEDRO PAN, THE CHURCH PROMISED TO TAKE CARE OF THEM IN THE UNITED STATES UNTIL THEIR PARENTS COULD JOIN THEM.

NELSON'S MOTHER DECIDED TO SEND HIM AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHER TO AMERICA, PROMISING SHE WOULD JOIN THEM AS SOON AS SHE COULD, BUT AS A NURSE, SHE WAS CONSIDERED A NECESSARY PROFESSIONAL AND WASN'T GRANTED A VISA.

THE MEMORY OF BEING SEPARATED FROM HIS MOTHER AT 9 YEARS OLD HAS NEVER LEFT NELSON.

YOUR MOTHER TELLS YOU YOU'RE GOING TO GO ALONE TO THE UNITED STATES?

BUT THEY MADE IT LIKE AN ADVENTURE.

BUT THEN THE DAY COMES TO GET ON THE PLANE.

THAT WAS REALLY HARD.

I STILL REMEMBER THAT, BECAUSE THE WAITING ROOM WAS A WALL LINED WITH GLASS.

FROM THAT POINT ON, MY MOTHER AND MY FAMILY COULDN'T GO WITH US.

SO, HERE YOU HAVE A MOB OF PEOPLE PRESSED AGAINST THAT GLASS.

MY GRANDMOTHER MAKING JOKES TO KEEP FROM CRYING, MY MOTHER TRYING NOT TO CRY.

BUT I REMEMBER THAT-- I REMEMBER THOSE FACES.

CURRY: NELSON AND HIS BROTHER WERE SENT TO A CHILDREN'S REFUGEE CAMP IN FLORIDA CITY RUN BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

NELSON: IT WAS LITERALLY A CITY OF CHILDREN, VERY FEW ADULTS.

CURRY: A PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT OF SMALL FAMILY HOMES HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO DORMITORY-STYLE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE CHILDREN.

OH, MY GOODNESS.

NELSON: IT'S REALLY REMARKABLE TO COME BACK.

IT'S SOMETHING I'VE WANTED TO DO FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE IT WAS HERE THAT WE STARTED OUR LIVES IN THE UNITED STATES, AND I'M REALLY MOVED BY BEING HERE.

IT'S VERY SPECIAL.

CURRY: YOUR FATHER HAD BEEN EXECUTED.

YOUR MOTHER PUT YOU ON A PLANE, AND YOU'RE NOW IN A BRAND-NEW COUNTRY.

AFTER ALL THAT STRESS AND WORRY, HOW DID THIS NEW LIFE COMPARE?

WE WERE TOTALLY DISORIENTED, I THINK.

AT FIRST, EVERYBODY THOUGHT THAT THEIR PARENTS WERE ARRIVING THE NEXT DAY OR SOON.

THE DAYS WERE REALLY ROAMING ABOUT THE CAMP, BUT WE WEREN'T, LIKE, SUPERVISED ALL THE TIME.

I REMEMBER WANDERING ABOUT BY MYSELF A LOT.

ONE DAY I REMEMBER SITTING OVER IN THAT AREA AND JUST CRYING.

SOBBING CRYING-- THAT KIND OF CRYING.

IT BECAME A MOMENT WHERE YOU FELT, SORT OF ABANDONED.

AND IT GOT TO A POINT WHERE I WAS REALIZING THAT MY MOTHER MIGHT NEVER COME.

CURRY: UNDER OPERATION PEDRO PAN, MORE THAN 14,000 UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN LEFT CUBA TO COME TO THE UNITED STATES.

[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY] CURRY: FOR THOSE WHO STAYED, CASTRO'S CUBA REMAINED AN OPPRESSIVE PLACE.

BY 1980, ANOTHER MASS MIGRATION WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN.

NEWS ANCHOR: 10,000 CUBANS CAN'T BE WRONG.

THEY ARE STILL HUDDLED ON THE GROUNDS OF THE PERUVIAN EMBASSY, CAUSING AN INTERNATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT FOR FIDEL CASTRO.

CURRY: JUAN DIAZ AND HIS FAMILY, ALONG WITH THOUSANDS OF OTHERS, WERE BECOMING A RALLYING CAUSE FOR THOSE OPPOSED TO FIDEL CASTRO'S REGIME.

SECOND NEWS ANCHOR: FOR THE FOURTH DAY IN A ROW, CUBAN AMERICAN EXILES MARCHED DOWN THE STREETS OF LITTLE HAVANA, SHOUTING THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE 10,000 CUBANS AT THE PERUVIAN EMBASSY, A CAUSE THAT HAS REKINDLED THE OLD CRIES FOR THE OVERTHROW OF CASTRO'S REGIME.

NEWS ANCHOR: CASTRO CALLS THEM ANTI-SOCIAL ELEMENTS.

HE INDICATES HE'S GLAD TO BE RID OF THE TROUBLEMAKERS.

CURRY: ON APRIL 20, 1980, CASTRO BROADCASTS AN ANNOUNCEMENT DECLARING THAT ANYONE WISHING TO LEAVE CUBA COULD DO SO FROM THE PORT OF MARIEL.

IN A DEFT POLITICAL MOVE, CASTRO USED THE CRISIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RID THE COUNTRY OF DISSIDENT VOICES.

JANE PAULEY: CUBAN EXILES LIVING IN FLORIDA HAVE STARTED A BOAT SHUTTLE ACROSS THE 90 MILES THAT SEPARATE CUBA FROM THIS COUNTRY.

THEY'RE BRINGING BACK CUBANS WHO SOUGHT ASYLUM AT THE PERUVIAN EMBASSY IN HAVANA EARLY THIS MONTH.

NEWS ANCHOR: THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THE CASTRO GOVERNMENT HAS CALLED "WORMS," "BUMS," "PROSTITUTES," AND "PARASITES."

CURRY: SIX WEEKS AFTER THEY FIRST STORMED THE EMBASSY, JUAN AND HIS FAMILY, ALONG WITH THOUSANDS OF OTHERS, WERE TAKEN BY GUARDS TO THE PORT.

JUAN: WE GOT CALLED TO GO ON A BUS.

AND HE DROVE AWAY FROM THE COMPOUND.

AND HE CLIMBED THE HILL, AND THEN MY DAD SAID "OH, HEY, LOOK DOWN THERE."

WE CAN SEE HUNDREDS OF BOATS ON OUR HARBOR THAT HAD THE AMERICAN FLAG, AND THAT'S WHEN MY DAD, HE SAID, "WELL, THESE ARE BOATS FROM AMERICA THAT HAVE COME HERE TO PICK US UP."

YEAH, SO WE FELT RELIEF.

CURRY: THE MARIEL BOATLIFT BECAME ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT MASS MIGRATIONS FROM CUBA THE U.S. HAS EVER SEEN.

NEWS ANCHOR: THERE ARE STILL 400 BOATS TIED UP IN MARIEL BAY.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING HERE FOR WEEKS TO BRING THEIR FAMILY TO AMERICA.

FIRST NEWS ANCHOR: THE FLEET IS FINANCED BY CUBAN AMERICANS.

THEY HOPE TO PICK UP THE MAJORITY OF THE ALMOST 11,000 CUBANS WHO EARLIER THIS MONTH INVADED THE PERUVIAN EMBASSY IN AN EFFORT TO FLEE THEIR COUNTRY.

CURRY: ON MAY 21, 1980, JUAN AND HIS FAMILY WERE BOARDED ONTO A SHRIMPING VESSEL, THE "SUN HIPPIE."

IT WAS HERE THAT HE MET THE MAN WHO WAS TO BECOME HIS HERO.

JUAN: SO WE BOARDED THIS BOAT, AND THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN THERE, AND, YOU KNOW, HE WELCOMED US.

HIS NAME IS CAPTAIN HOOPER.

HE WAS VERY TALL TO ME, IT SEEMS LIKE.

HE WAS A BIG AFRICAN AMERICAN.

HE WAS VERY ANIMATED, HE WAS FUNNY.

HE GOT US CHANTING "NO MORE CASTRO," "NO MORE CASTRO."

AND I REMEMBER THAT HE SIMULATED LIKE HE WAS CUTTING SUGAR CANE, BECAUSE IN CUBA, HARD LABOR IS HAVING TO CUT SUGAR CANE, AND HE WAS SAYING, "NO MORE SUGAR CANE, NO MORE SUGAR CANE."

THERE WAS A LANGUAGE BARRIER, BUT YOU COULD TELL THAT HE UNDERSTOOD OUR PLIGHT, HE UNDERSTOOD WHAT WE WERE GOING THROUGH AND THE REASONS WHY.

AND THEN HE ALSO GAVE US APPLES.

I NEVER HAD ONE BEFORE.

YOU'RE MOVED JUST BY THE MEMORY OF HIM.

YEAH.

IT WAS A DIFFERENT TREATMENT, RIGHT?

FOR THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS, WE'D BEEN GOING THROUGH A VERY DIFFICULT TIME.

AND HERE WE'RE ON THIS BOAT, PEOPLE BEING NICE.

CURRY: FOR JUAN AND HIS FAMILY, LEAVING CUBA IN 1980 REPRESENTED A CHANCE FOR FREEDOM AND A BETTER LIFE.

BUT IN 1962 FOR 9-YEAR-OLD NELSON FIGUERAS, ARRIVING IN AMERICA MEANT FINDING HIMSELF IN A STRANGE FOREIGN COUNTRY WITH NO SIGN OF HIS MOTHER.

WITH THE GROWING NUMBERS OF UNACCOMPANIED PEDRO PAN CHILDREN ARRIVING EVERY DAY, THE CATHOLIC CHARITIES APPEALED TO FAMILIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR HELP.

MAN: NONE OF THE CHILDREN ARE FOR ADOPTION.

WHAT IS REQUIRED IS A TEMPORARY FOSTER HOME UNTIL THE CHILD CAN BE REUNITED WITH HIS FAMILY.

CURRY: AFTER THREE LONG MONTHS WITHOUT A HOME, NELSON AND HIS BROTHER WERE FLOWN NEARLY 3,000 MILES TO WASHINGTON STATE TO MEET THEIR NEW FAMILY.

SO YOU ARRIVE IN YAKIMA, WASHINGTON.

YES.

AND HOW ARE YOU GREETED?

WHO'S THERE?

WE ARRIVED AT NIGHT.

WE WERE USHERED IN A BIG ROOM, WHERE WE SLEPT ON THE FLOOR IN SLEEPING BAGS.

AND THE FOLLOWING DAY, VERY EARLY, WE WERE THEN INTRODUCED TO WHAT BECAME OUR FOSTER FAMILY IN THE PARKING LOT.

I RECALL IT BEING A VERY AMICABLE INTRODUCTION, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AWKWARD BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW THEM.

BUT IT WAS WELCOMING BECAUSE THEY SPOKE OUR LANGUAGE.

CURRY: NELSON AND HIS BROTHER WERE FOSTERED WITH A YOUNG MEXICAN-AMERICAN COUPLE, LILIA AND JOE MALTOS, AND THEIR THREE CHILDREN, TINA, JOEY, AND BABY HOPE.

NELSON: IT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST NORMAL TIME OF OUR LIVES COMPARED TO WHAT WE LEFT IN CUBA.

THERE WERE NO POLITICS.

THERE WERE NO CRISES.

JUST TALKING ABOUT IT, YOUR FACE HAS JUST LIT UP.

YOU'RE SMILING.

IT WAS.

I MEAN, THERE'S-- I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING BAD BECAUSE THERE WASN'T.

THEY WERE WONDERFUL PEOPLE.

CURRY: AS SPANISH SPEAKERS, THE MALTOS FAMILY WAS EASILY ABLE TO MAKE THE YOUNG REFUGEES FEEL AT HOME.

NELSON: IT WAS A HAPPY TIME.

I GUESS IT GAVE US PEACE AND ALLOWED US REALLY TO FLOURISH.

WE SPENT OUR FIRST THANKSGIVING WITH THEM, OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS.

WE WERE INVOLVED IN THE CHURCH.

I REMEMBER BEING TAKEN TO GET CLOTHES FOR SCHOOL.

AND I REMEMBER MY FIRST PAIR OF HUSH PUPPIES THAT THEY BOUGHT ME.

AND I USED TO LOVE TO GO TO SCHOOL.

OUR LIVES WERE HAPPY.

AND I THINK IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE CARE THAT ESPECIALLY LILIA GAVE US, BECAUSE, SHE WOULD PREPARE OUR BREAKFASTS.

SHE WOULD COOK.

AND TO THIS DAY, I ONCE IN A WHILE MAKE ENCHILADAS, AND I MAKE THEM-- I DON'T KNOW IF I'M DOING THEM RIGHT-- BUT I MAKE THEM BASED ON THE MEMORY OF WHAT SHE USED TO COOK FOR US.

AND SHE SAW TO NOT JUST HER OWN LITTLE CHILDREN, BUT THE TWO OF US.

DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WERE MAKING AN ATTACHMENT?

YES, WE HAD NO DESIRES OF, LIKE, GOING ANYWHERE ELSE.

CURRY: BUT THE HAPPIEST PERIOD IN HIS CHILDHOOD, NELSON'S TIME WITH THE MALTOS, WAS BRIEF.

WHEN LILIA BECAME PREGNANT WITH A FOURTH CHILD, SHE WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO LOOK AFTER THE BOYS, AND THEY WERE MOVED TO A NEW HOME.

CURRY: YOU WERE ONLY WITH THEM FOR NOT EVEN FULLY A YEAR.

IT WAS ONLY A YEAR, BUT THE MEMORIES AND THE INFLUENCE THEY HAD ON US TRANSCENDED THAT TIME.

THERE ISN'T ANY TIME THAT GOES BY THAT I DON'T THINK ABOUT THEM IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

I MEAN, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO.

CURRY: NELSON AND HIS BROTHER EVENTUALLY REUNITED WITH THEIR MOTHER IN 1965, BUT NELSON NEVER FORGOT THE KINDNESS OF THE FAMILY THAT FIRST TOOK THEM IN.

CURRY: WHY STILL, AFTER MORE THAN 50 YEARS, DO YOU WANT TO NOW FIND THEM?

NELSON: I WOULD HATE TO THINK THAT I NEVER THANKED THEM AND THAT I WOULD DIE WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING AND BEING THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL FOR THOSE TIMES.

CURRY: NELSON'S CHILDHOOD WAS TRANSFORMED BY THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS WHO WELCOMED HIM INTO THEIR FAMILY.

20 YEARS LATER, ON MAY 21, 1980, JUAN AND HIS FAMILY HAD NO IDEA HOW MUCH THEIR LIVES WOULD DEPEND ON THE BOAT CAPTAIN WHO WAS ABOUT TO TAKE THEM ALL TO FREEDOM.

JUAN: I WAS VERY EXCITED BEING IN THE BOAT.

I MEAN, I FIGURED WE WERE GONNA LEAVE RIGHT AWAY.

BUT EVERY TIME THEY WOULD ASK, "CAN WE GO?," THE CUBAN OFFICIALS SAID "NO," AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER BUS SHOWS UP, AND MORE PEOPLE WERE PUT ON OUR BOAT.

SO I THINK... THEIR INTENTION WAS TO JUST FILL THIS THING TO THE RIM.

CURRY: CUBAN OFFICIALS WERE PREVENTING BOATS FROM LEAVING UNTIL THEY WERE PACKED FULL OF EXILES, OFTEN CAUSING THEM TO BE DANGEROUSLY OVERLOADED.

JUAN: THAT BOAT WAS NOT BUILT TO HOLD THAT MANY PEOPLE.

WE WERE REAL CLOSE TO THE WATER, TOO.

YOU COULD FEEL THE WATER WHERE THE WAVES WERE.

YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE BOAT WAS SUNK DOWN UNDER THE WATER FROM THE WEIGHT OF ALL THE PEOPLE?

OH, YEAH.

THE BOAT WAS REALLY LOW TO THE WATER.

ABSOLUTELY.

IT WAS VERY LOADED WITH PEOPLE.

AND THAT WAS SCARY FOR ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T FEEL SAFE AT THAT POINT.

CURRY: BY THE TIME THE "SUN HIPPIE" FINALLY SET SAIL, IT WAS ALMOST DARK AND A STORM WAS BLOWING IN.

CAPTAIN HOOPER NEEDED TO GET THE REFUGEES ACROSS 110 MILES OF TREACHEROUS OCEAN FROM MARIEL PORT IN A DANGEROUSLY OVERLOADED BOAT.

JUAN: IT SEEMED LIKE THE OCEAN BECAME MORE AND MORE TURBULENT.

IT WAS A WINDY NIGHT, AND I REMEMBER THE BOAT WAS JUST GOING UP AND DOWN.

AND AS THE NIGHT WORE ON, IT JUST SEEMED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO SINK.

IT WAS VERY OVERLOADED WITH PEOPLE.

AND AS THE NIGHT WORE ON, IT GOT REALLY, REALLY ROUGH.

THE WAVES HAD TO BE SEVERAL FEET.

WE WERE GOING UP AND DOWN AND SIDEWAYS.

SO, AT THAT POINT I REMEMBER CAPTAIN HOOPER TELLING EVERYBODY THAT WE NEEDED TO GET INSIDE THE BOAT.

IT WAS ACTUALLY WHERE THEY WOULD STORE THE SHRIMP BECAUSE THE "SUN HIPPIE" WAS A SHRIMP BOAT.

BUT EVERYBODY WAS, LIKE, ELBOW TO ELBOW.

THERE WAS NO ROOM.

AND IT WAS VERY SCARY BECAUSE WE WERE ROCKING SO MUCH BACK AND FORTH THAT I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DROWN.

I REALLY FELT LIKE THIS IS IT, THAT WE HAD TO BASICALLY PUT OUR LIVES IN HIS HANDS, AND HE GOT US OUT OF IT.

CURRY: THANKS TO CAPTAIN HOOPER'S QUICK THINKING, EVERYONE ON BOARD SURVIVED THE JOURNEY, BUT THEY WEREN'T THE ONLY PEOPLE HE RESCUED THAT NIGHT.

JUAN: WE COULD HEAR SOME PEOPLE SCREAMING IN THE DISTANCE.

AND I REMEMBER OUR CAPTAIN BEGAN TO DO CIRCLES, AND THEN WE FOUND THIS ONE BOAT THAT WAS JUST FLOATING WITH PEOPLE IN IT, BUT IT LOST ALL POWER.

WE HELPED THOSE PEOPLE COME ONTO OUR BOAT.

THEY WERE OBVIOUSLY ANOTHER GROUP OF CUBAN REFUGEES.

SO THAT WAS MOVING FOR ME.

THAT WAS LIKE, HE'S ALREADY IN A BAD SPOT BECAUSE HE'S GOT ALL THESE PEOPLE ON HIS BOAT THAT WASN'T MEANT TO BE IN IT, BUT HE WAS WILLING TO GO AND HELP OTHERS.

IN MY MIND, HE WAS THE HERO YOU KNOW, LIKE A SUPERMAN OR SOMEBODY WITH JUST POWERS THAT ARE GREATER THAN THE REST.

CURRY: THE NEXT DAY, AFTER MORE THAN 12 HARROWING HOURS AT SEA, CAPTAIN HOOPER SUCCESSFULLY BROUGHT ALL 190 REFUGEES TO SAFETY.

JUAN: WE ARRIVED 6 OR 7 A.M., THE ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR HERE AT KEY WEST WAS REALLY PACKED.

THERE WAS A LOT OF SHIPS AND VESSELS, AND THERE WAS THIS CONSTANT FLOW OF JUST REFUGEES COMING IN, AND THERE WAS BOATS GOING OUT.

AND IT WAS RIGHT ALONG THIS PIER WHERE OUR BOAT WAS TIED DOWN, AND THEN WE WERE ALLOWED TO DISEMBARK.

EVERY YEAR, COME TO THIS SAME SPOT WHENEVER I'M IN KEY WEST BECAUSE IT WAS RIGHT HERE WHEN WE FIRST TOUCHED AMERICAN SOIL.

IT'S KIND OF NEAT TO BE ABLE TO ALWAYS GO BACK TO THE SPOT, YOU KNOW?

'CAUSE IT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF THAT DAY.

AND IT MAKES ME APPRECIATE WHAT I HAVE AND HOW LUCKY I AM.

JUAN: I REMEMBER A SENSE OF RELIEF, LIKE, I FEEL LIKE, "GOD.

WE FINALLY HAVE GOT HERE."

AND THERE WERE PEOPLE... WITH SIGNS, "WELCOME," SAYING WELCOME IN SPANISH: BIENVENIDOS.

SO I FELT GOOD.

YOU WERE SAFE.

YEAH, WE MADE IT.

IT WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW THE CAPTAIN.

YEAH, I REMEMBER LOOKING BACK AT THE BOAT AND SEEING HIM, AND I WAVED AT HIM.

I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU.

I FELT THAT WE OWED OUR LIVES TO HIM.

CURRY: JUAN DIAZ WENT ON TO BECOME A FIREFIGHTER AND THE FIRE CHIEF IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, DEDICATING HIS LIFE TO RESCUING OTHERS, BUT HE HAS NEVER STOPPED HOPING TO FIND THE MAN WHO ONCE RESCUED HIM.

JUAN: WELL, I'VE HAD A SUCCESSFUL LIFE IN AMERICA.

I FEEL THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO ATTAIN MY DREAMS.

AND I WANT TO SOMEHOW GO BACK AND THANK HIM.

I WANT TO BE ABLE TO JUST GIVE HIM A HUG AND SAY THANK YOU FOR THE COMMAND DECISIONS THAT YOU MADE THAT NIGHT TO KEEP US SAFE.

BECAUSE IT BOILS DOWN TO ME AS THIS, I BELIEVE HE SAVED MY LIFE.

CURRY: JUAN HAS SPENT YEARS SEARCHING IN VAIN FOR ANY SIGN OF HIS BOAT CAPTAIN.

JUAN: I DON'T KNOW HIS FIRST NAME.

I TRIED FINDING HIS-- I TYPED IN "HOOPER," AND I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT FISHERMEN, KEY WEST, ALL THAT STUFF.

I CAN'T FIND IT.

I DON'T KNOW HOW OLD HE IS.

THAT'S ANOTHER THING.

I'M GUESSING THAT HE HAD TO BE IN HIS 30S, 40S.

MAYBE HE WAS IN HIS 20S.

I JUST DON'T KNOW.

SO, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF HE'S ALIVE.

CURRY: JUAN IS DETERMINED TO FIND OUT WHAT BECAME OF CAPTAIN HOOPER.

MEANWHILE, NELSON FIGUERAS HAS FLOWN ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO YAKIMA, WASHINGTON, TO TRACK DOWN THE FAMILY THAT TOOK HIM IN ALMOST 60 YEARS AGO.

NELSON: OH, GOD.

IT'S A LITTLE STRANGE BECAUSE I'VE RETRACED THE VERY TRIP THAT I TOOK IN 1962.

CURRY: NELSON IS ON HIS WAY TO THE TOWN OF SUNNYSIDE, WHERE HE LIVED WITH THE MALTOS FAMILY.

IT WILL BE THE FIRST TIME HE'S BEEN BACK SINCE HE WAS A CHILD.

NELSON: THIS IS GENERALLY WHAT I REMEMBER-- JUST LONG ROAD, FARMLAND, AND THOSE HILLS.

THOSE HILLS WERE, LIKE, SOMETHING YOU WOULD SEE IN AN OLD COWBOY MOVIE.

OH, IT FEELS LIKE GOING BACK IN TIME.

CURRY: NELSON HAS NEVER HAD AN ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER FOR THE FAMILY.

NELSON: THAT'S THE CHURCH WE USED TO GO TO.

SO THE HOUSE HAS TO BE IN THAT DIRECTION.

CURRY: BUT HE'S HOPING HE CAN FIND THE OLD HOUSE FROM MEMORY.

NELSON: HMM, I WANT TO WALK THIS WAY.

CURRY: THE ONLY CLUE HE HAS IS A TREASURED PHOTOGRAPH OF THE MALTOS FAMILY HOME.

THIS IS THE HOUSE WHERE WE LIVED, AND I REMEMBER THAT THE HOUSE USED TO FACE A STREET THAT HAD A HUGE, VACANT, LIKE A FIELD THAT WAS UNDEVELOPED.

THERE'S NO HOUSE, AND SOMEHOW, THIS SECTION UP HERE, WHERE THERE WAS A BIG FIELD, AND IT'S VERY POSSIBLE IT COULD BE ONE OF THESE SMALL HOMES.

CURRY: BUT WHILE HUNTING FOR THE HOUSE, AN IMPORTANT DETAIL CATCHES HIS EYE.

NELSON: IN ALL THE TIMES THAT I'VE LOOKED AT THESE PICTURES, NEVER REALLY NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A HOUSE NUMBER.

IT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD BE A 708 OR A 108.

SO LET'S, UM... LET ME WALK OVER HERE.

THIS IS THE NUMBER.

THE WINDOW'S THE SAME.

HI.

HI.

I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD HELP ME.

I THINK I MAY HAVE LIVED IN YOUR HOME BACK IN 1962.

I'M TRYING TO FIND THE FAMILY THAT USED TO LIVE HERE.

IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR NUMBER, SO I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, I'D JUST ASK.

IT DOES LOOK LIKE THE HOUSE!

SO YOU KNOW THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR?

MALTOS WAS THE FAMILY THAT-- MALTOS?

YES.

NO.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T KNOW THOSE PEOPLE.

NO?

HAVE YOU LIVED HERE LONG?

ONE YEAR.

OH, A YEAR.

UH-HUH.

CURRY: ALTHOUGH THE NEW OWNERS CAN'T PROVIDE ANY DETAILS, THEY DO INVITE NELSON IN TO REVISIT HIS FORMER HOME.

NELSON: THERE'S THE KITCHEN AND THE EATING AREA HERE AND THE BEDROOM HERE.

YES.

THE BATHROOM IS THERE.

YES.

AND TWO OTHER BEDROOMS.

YES.

THE KITCHEN IS BASICALLY THE SAME.

THERE WAS A DOORWAY HERE THAT WENT TO THE GARAGE, AND THIS IS WHERE WE WOULD HAVE OUR BREAKFAST, OUR DINNER.

THIS WAS OUR HOME.

I REMEMBER THE FIRST CHRISTMAS, THE TREE WAS OVER HERE.

IT WAS A BIG TREE THAT WAS ALL COVERED IN WHITE WITH BLUE LIGHTS, AND, OF COURSE, THE FIREPLACE.

AND I REMEMBER SITTING THERE AND PLAYING NEXT TO THE FIREPLACE.

NELSON: MUCHAS GRACIAS.

MUY AGRADECIDO.

MUY AMABLE.

NO, USTED, PARA COMPARTIR SU HISTORIA CON NOSOTROS... NO, GRACIAS, GRACIAS.

SU SEÑORA, TAMBIÉN.

PERDONA LA MOLESTIA.

NINGUNA MOLESTIA.

NELSON, VOICE-OVER: IT'S BEEN OVER 50 YEARS.

SO THIS IS SURREAL TO SAY THE VERY LEAST.

IT'S LIKE RETURNING HOME AFTER A VERY LONG ABSENCE.

CURRY: NELSON IS DETERMINED TO DISCOVER NEW LEADS TO FIND THE FAMILY.

MEANWHILE, JUAN DIAZ HAS RETURNED TO KEY WEST, WHERE HE FIRST ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES, AND WHERE HE LAST SAW CAPTAIN HOOPER.

HE'S BEGINNING HIS SEARCH AT THE INGHAM, A U.S. COAST GUARD SHIP THAT IS NOW A MARITIME MUSEUM.

HOW ARE YOU, SIR?

VERY WELL.

I'M CAPTAIN BILL.

HI.

NICE TO MEET YOU.

I'M JUAN DIAZ.

NICE TO MEET YOU, CAPTAIN.

JUAN, A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.

WHY DON'T WE HAVE A SEAT OVER HERE?

THANK YOU.

CURRY: BILL GROSSCUP, A FORMER HARBOR MASTER, WHO WAS IN KEY WEST AT THE TIME OF THE MARIEL BOATLIFT, IS A VOLUNTEER AT THE MUSEUM.

JUAN IS HOPING THAT BILL CAN HELP HIM FIND RECORDS RELATING TO HIS JOURNEY.

BILL: THIS IS THE OFFICIAL LOG BOOK OF THIS SHIP.

AND THEN THE CAPTAIN MAKES HIS ENTRIES... OF WHAT HE SAW, WHAT HE OBSERVED.

OF THE SIGNIFICANT EVENTS DURING THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT IN TIME.

JUAN: YES.

OH, OK. WE CAME IN IN THE MONTH OF MAY.

MM-HMM.

SO APRIL--SO HERE'S MAY 1ST.

RIGHT.

IT WAS A VERY BUSY TIME.

EXTREMELY BUSY.

165,000 PEOPLE CAME INTO THIS COUNTRY.

RIGHT.

AND THIS HARBOR WAS SO FILLED WITH SMALL REFUGEE BOATS, YOU COULD WALK FROM THE SEA WALL HERE, ALL THE WAY TO THE SEA WALL ACROSS AND NEVER GET YOUR FEET WET.

WOW!

I SEE.

IT SAYS HERE "CAREFUL NAVIGATION," BECAUSE, I GUESS, THERE WERE SO MANY VESSELS IN THE WATER.

IT NOT ONLY HAD SHIPS THAT WERE SINKING, BECAUSE THEY WERE OLD AND LEAKY AND THE BATTERY POWER, THEY ALSO HAD MEDICAL ISSUES... SURE.

THAT THE REFUGEES HAD GONE THROUGH, GETTING FROM ONE SHIP-- AND THEN THEY HAD THE WEATHER ON TOP OF THAT... OH, YEAH, IT WAS VERY ROUGH... BECAUSE IT WAS ROUGH... THAT TIME OF THE YEAR.

IT BLEW.

MANY SHIPS PERISHED.

I REMEMBER IT WAS VERY ROUGH FOR US.

I WAS VERY SCARED, THINKING WE WERE GOING TO SINK.

NOW, IN THESE LOGS, ONE OF THE EXCITING THINGS WE FOUND WAS THIS.

"SUN HIPPIE"?

OH, WOW!

THERE IT IS!

ISN'T THAT EXCITING?

YEAH!

MAY 22ND!

THAT'S WHEN WE CAME.

DAWN.

WOW!

AND SO RIGHT HERE, IT SAYS REFUGEES, 190.

SO THAT MAKES SENSE.

WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE TO BE ON A SHRIMP BOAT.

WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE FOR A SHRIMP BOAT!

THIS IS SOMETHING OUT OF THE "MIAMI NEWS."

ALL RIGHT.

HERE'S THE BOAT, "SUN HIPPIE."

A 60-FOOT SHRIMPER PACKED WITH 180 CUBANS.

THAT'S MY BOAT.

HOW ABOUT THAT?

WOW!

THAT IS AMAZING.

"ONE OF THE LARGEST SHIPS TO ARRIVE DURING THE NIGHT "WAS THE 'SUN HIPPIE'.

"THEY STOOD ON THE CABIN ROOF AND ON THE BOW, "CLINGING TO THE RIGGING.

"THE MASS OF HUMANITY WAS STRANGELY SILENT "AS THE BOAT DOCKED, "BUT AS THE REFUGEES STEPPED ASHORE, "MANY BURST INTO SHOUTS OF JOY "AND LEAPED INTO THE AIR.

THEY SHOUTED "'LIBERTAD.'"

LIBERTAD IN SPANISH MEANS "LIBERTY."

THAT'S SPANISH, "LIBERTY."

THAT'S INTERESTING THAT THE BOAT IS MENTIONED.

CURRY: BUT DESPITE MANY REFERENCES TO THE "SUN HIPPIE," THERE ARE NO RECORDS OF CAPTAIN HOOPER, THE BOAT CAPTAIN JUAN IS SO DESPERATE TO FIND.

JUAN: SO, CAPTAIN BILL, I'M LOOKING FOR THE CAPTAIN.

I WANT TO BE ABLE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR WHAT HE DID.

I'M CURIOUS IF YOU KNOW HIM IN TOWN, OR IF YOU KNOW SOMEBODY THAT WOULD KNOW WHERE HE MAY BE?

WELL, I'M GOING TO PUT OUT SOME INQUIRIES.

OK.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

BECAUSE IT'S A NOBLE CAUSE.

AND HAVING GONE THROUGH THE MARIEL BUT ON THIS SIDE OF IT, IT'S WORTHWHILE.

I APPRECIATE ANY HELP YOU CAN EXTEND MY WAY.

WE'LL DO WHAT WE CAN TO HELP.

JUAN, VOICE-OVER: SEEING THE COAST GUARD RECORDS PUTS IT IN A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.

I SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY, AND THAT IS THE RESCUERS.

OBVIOUSLY, THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE COAST GUARD PUT THEMSELVES IN HARM'S WAY IN TRYING TO RESCUE ALL THE REFUGEES.

AND BY THE LOG'S ENTRY, THEY WAS QUITE SUCCESSFUL, AND THEY WERE ACTUALLY VERY BUSY.

BUT IT TELLS YOU THE RISKS THAT WE, AS HUMANS, ARE WILLING TO TAKE TO SEEK A BETTER LIFE.

CURRY: AFTER DECADES OF SEARCHING, JUAN IS HOPING THAT BILL MIGHT FINALLY UNEARTH SOME NEW LEADS ABOUT CAPTAIN HOOPER.

CURRY: TWO DAYS LATER, HE GETS AN UPDATE.

JUAN: "I'M AFRAID TO SAY I HAVEN'T HAD MUCH LUCK "IN FINDING CAPTAIN HOOPER.

"HOWEVER, A FELLOW HISTORIAN SUGGESTED "YOU GET IN TOUCH WITH CAPTAIN GEORGE GARDNER, "WHO HAD WORKED WITH CAPTAIN HOOPER DURING THE MARIEL BOATLIFT."

OK. THAT'S ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD BREAK IN THE CASE, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T FOUND ANYBODY THAT SAID, "YES, I KNOW...I WORKED WITH HIM," YOU KNOW?

CURRY: AT LAST, JUAN'S SEARCH MAY HAVE TURNED A CORNER.

IN YAKIMA, WITH THE HOUSE PROVING A DEAD END... HI.

I'M SUE... HELLO.

HOW ARE YOU?

CURRY: NELSON IS HOPING THE LOCAL GENEALOGY SOCIETY MIGHT HAVE SOME LEADS ON THE WHEREABOUTS OF JOE AND LILIA MALTOS.

SUE: WE DECIDED TO TRY TO FIND THE FAMILY USING DOCUMENTS.

AND THIS ONE IS THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE FOR JOE AND LILIA.

AND THEY GOT MARRIED IN 1956, AND THEY WERE MARRIED BY THE CATHOLIC PRIEST IN ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH.

NELSON: SO THEY WERE VERY YOUNG.

YEAH, MID-20S.

THEN THE NEXT SEARCH POPPED UP, AND, UNFORTUNATELY, JOE PASSED AWAY THREE YEARS AGO.

OHH.

THIS IS THE FIRST IMAGE SINCE ACTUALLY SEEING HIM IN PERSON.

"JOE MALTOS DIED NOVEMBER 9, 2015."

IT'S NOT THAT LONG AGO, THREE YEARS AGO.

BUT WE DIDN'T FIND ANY OBIT FOR LILIA.

OK. THAT WOULD MEAN THAT IF SHE'S STILL LIVING, SHE MAY BE EITHER LIVING STILL IN THE VALLEY HERE, OR SHE MAY HAVE MOVED.

WE DON'T KNOW THAT.

RIGHT.

BUT CATHOLIC CHURCHES DO KEEP RECORDS, EVEN IF THEIR MEMBERS MOVED AWAY.

SO I WOULD SAY THAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SUNNYSIDE WOULD KNOW MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LILIA.

NELSON: THAT'S RIGHT.

THEN MY NEXT STOP SHOULD BE ST. JOSEPH'S.

THIS WAS SORT OF A COMMUNITY CENTER.

WE USED TO COME HERE FOR MASSES TO LEARN ABOUT THE TRADITIONS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

OH, MY GOODNESS.

THIS HAS NOT CHANGED AT ALL.

HA HA!

FATHER THOMAS?

THAT'S ME.

HELLO, FATHER.

I'M NELSON... OH, GOOD AFTERNOON.

HOW CAN I HELP YOU?

I'M HERE AFTER A LONG ABSENCE, HOPING TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT A FOSTER FAMILY THAT CARED FOR MY BROTHER AND I IN 1962.

THEIR NAMES WERE MALTOS.

I RECOGNIZE THE NAME MALTOS.

OK.

BUT I'M REALLY HOPING TO FIND MRS. MALTOS, OR LILIA.

WELL, I KNOW LILIA.

SHE COMES TO MASS HERE ON SATURDAYS.

REALLY?

YEAH!

HA HA!

I KNOW HER SON.

I KNOW HER GRANDSON.

THEY'RE A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY.

THAT'S MY MOTIVATION IN FINDING THEM... OH, YEAH.

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE GET OLDER, BUT WE DON'T FORGET.

I'M HOPING THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO FACILITATE OUR BEING IN TOUCH OR TO MEET.

I'M HAPPY TO CALL HER AND SEE IF SHE WANTS TO MEET WITH YOU.

THAT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

IT REALLY WOULD BE VERY SPECIAL TO SEE HER AGAIN.

I'M FEELING VERY HAPPY.

LILIA IS STILL ALIVE.

I'M HOPING THAT SHE'LL AGREE TO MEET ME.

I KNOW IT WOULD BE HARD FOR HER, BUT IT WOULD BE VERY SPECIAL FOR ME.

CURRY: AS NELSON WAITS FOR NEWS FROM LILIA... JUAN IS ALSO MAKING PROGRESS WITH HIS SEARCH.

HOW YOU DOING?

I'M GOOD.

I'M JUAN DIAZ.

JUAN DIAZ?

YES.

GLAD TO MEET YOU, JUAN DIAZ.

NICE TO MEET YOU.

CAN WE HAVE A SEAT?

CURRY: HE'S BEEN PUT IN TOUCH WITH GEORGE GARDNER, A FISHERMAN WHO WORKED WITH CAPTAIN HOOPER DURING THE MARIEL BOATLIFT.

JUAN: WHEN I MET CAPTAIN HOOPER IN MARIEL, IT WAS A VERY ROUGH NIGHT COMING OVER ON THAT DAY.

YOU WENT TO CUBA, YOU SAID...

I WENT TO CUBA BECAUSE WE WORKED TOGETHER.

AH!

IS THAT RIGHT?

CAPTAIN HOOPER.

YEAH, CAPTAIN GEORGE HOOPER.

HE WAS ON ONE OF THE COMPANY BOATS, AND I WAS ON ONE OF THE SMALLER BOATS.

AND THAT WAS MY FIRST TIME TAKING A BOAT FROM KEY WEST TO CUBA, SO HE WAS, LIKE, A MENTOR TO ME... OH, WOW!

WITH HELPING ME LEARN HOW TO FISH AND WHAT NOT TO DO AND WHAT TO DO.

SO WHENEVER WE WENT TO HIS HOME PORT, HE WOULD TAKE ME HOME... SURE.

AND HE WOULD, YOU KNOW, FEED ME AND KEEP ME OUT OF TROUBLE.

SO HE WAS, LIKE YOU SAID, HE WAS A VERY CARING GUY.

HE SHOWED THAT.

WELL, HE WAS A VERY SPIRITUAL PERSON, BECAUSE HIS NICKNAME, WE USED TO CALL HIM REVEREND GEORGE, SEE?

OH, LIKE A REVEREND.

YEAH.

HIS REASON FOR GOING WAS HE WAS TRYING-- YOU KNOW, BEING THE RELIGIOUS PERSON THAT HE WAS, TO TRY TO HELP.

THAT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME.

YEAH.

WELL, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING WITH HIM, YOU KNOW, SACRIFICING HIS FAMILY BECAUSE SOMEBODY NEEDED HELP.

A MAN WITH A BIG HEART.

YEAH.

I'VE BEEN TO THE KEYS MANY TIMES, AND I'VE ALWAYS ASKED AROUND, BUT I NEVER FOUND ANYBODY THAT KNEW HIM.

THAT'S WHAT I CAME, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF TELL YOU ABOUT HIM.

ABOUT 5 OR 6 YEARS AFTER MARIEL, HE GOT SICK... OH, OK. AND HE WAS IN A NURSING HOME.

AND, YOU KNOW, HE PASSED ON QUITE A FEW YEARS BACK.

OH, I'M SORRY.

YOU KNOW, BUT I KNOW HE WOULD APPRECIATE WHAT YOU ARE DOING, YOU KNOW, COMING TO FIND HIM BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE WE BROUGHT OVER HERE... NO ONE HAS EVER...?

NOBODY NEVER WANTED TO REACH OUT AND SAY... YOU KNOW...

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

YOU KNOW, SO IT MEANS A LOT TO ME BECAUSE HE MEANT A LOT TO ME.

JUAN: WELL, YOU KNOW, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF WANTING TO MEET THE CAPTAIN AND LEARNING THAT HE HAS SINCE PASSED, IT'S A BIT OF A--I WOULDN'T SAY DISAPPOINTMENT.

IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF, YOU KNOW, IT SADDENS ME A BIT BECAUSE I REALLY WANTED TO THANK HIM, BUT... YEAH, I WISH I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAY THANK YOU.

♪ CURRY: ALTHOUGH CAPTAIN HOOPER HAS PASSED AWAY, GEORGE DOES HAVE ONE MORE PIECE OF NEWS FOR JUAN.

GEORGE: I LOOKED FOR HIS FAMILY WHEN I FOUND OUT... [CHOKES UP] THAT HE HAD PASSED AWAY.

OHH.

SO I MADE IT MY BUSINESS TO GO TO APALACHEE AND LOOK FOR THEM, AND I GOT IN TOUCH WITH ONE OF HIS DAUGHTERS, AND WE KEPT IN CONTACT... OH, THAT'S GREAT.

BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DONE FOR ME, AND I TOLD THEM ABOUT YOU, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF THEM ARE HERE.

THEY'RE HERE?

THEY'RE HERE.

LIKE, IN FORT LAUDERDALE?

THEY'RE HERE.

ARE HERE.

OH, NO WAY.

YEAH WAY.

COME HERE.

GIVE ME A HUG.

ALL RIGHT.

GIVE ME A HUG.

THANK YOU... [MUSIC PLAYING ON SOUNDTRACK] JUAN, VOICE-OVER: IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE WAS A CONNECTION THERE BETWEEN HIM AND CAPTAIN HOOPER.

I'M NOT SURPRISED TO HEAR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HE WAS SHARING.

IT JUST REAFFIRMS FOR ME WHY I WANTED TO THANK HIM, BECAUSE I KNEW THAT HE WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY PERSON.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT, SIR.

WE'LL STAY IN TOUCH.

WE WILL.

TAKE CARE.

BUT TO BE ABLE TO SEE HIS FAMILY AND THANKING THEM, THAT'S AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET, I'LL TAKE THAT.

IT'S GOING TO BE AN EXCITING DAY.

CURRY: JUAN WILL GET TO MEET THE FAMILY OF THE MAN WHO SAVED HIS LIFE.

[BUZZING] IN YAKIMA, NELSON IS ON HIS WAY TO MEET LILIA, THE SURROGATE MOTHER WHO PROVIDED HIM WITH A LOVING HOME MORE THAN 56 YEARS AGO.

NELSON, VOICE-OVER: IT'S VERY EXCITING, AND IT'S STILL A SOURCE OF ANXIETY FOR ME.

I HAD A HARD TIME SLEEPING THE WHOLE NIGHT.

AND I KNOW IT'S ALL NERVOUS ENERGY THAT WAS KEEPING ME UP.

LILIA: I FELT THAT THE BOYS FROM CUBA HAD A LOT OF EMOTIONS BECAUSE OF ALL THAT THEY'D BEEN THROUGH.

SO IT WAS JUST THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

AND I'M EXCITED, BUT I'M NERVOUS BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME.

MY GOODNESS.

HI, NELSON.

LILIA!

OH, HONEY.

IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU.

OH, AND YOU.

YES.

COME AND SIT DOWN, HONEY.

CURRY: NELSON FINALLY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS THE GRATITUDE HE HAS FELT FOR SO LONG.

NELSON: THESE YEARS THAT WE SPENT WITH YOU, THAT IS WHAT I RECALL AS BEING THE HAPPIEST TIME.

WE WERE PLAYING WITH THE KIDS IN THE YARD.

WE WERE GOING TO THE MOVIES.

I REMEMBER THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE WE SAW IN YOUR HOUSE.

THAT'S SO GREAT THAT YOU REMEMBER ALL THAT STUFF.

BUT THE GOOD THINGS WE DON'T FORGET.

OH, NO.

YOU GUYS WERE KIND ENOUGH TO TAKE US IN AND TREAT US LIKE YOUR OWN CHILDREN, AND I DIDN'T WANT ANY MORE TIME TO PASS WITHOUT SEEING YOU AND SAYING THANK YOU.

OH, WOW.

LILIA, VOICE-OVER: HOW APPRECIATIVE HE IS OF US TAKING HIM IN.

HE HAS A NICE FAMILY NOW AND EVERYTHING.

SO I'M HAPPY FOR HIM.

ANOTHER THING THAT I'VE WONDERED ABOUT IS, DID YOUR MAMA COME TO THE STATES?

OH, YES.

SHE CAME IN 1965.

THAT'S WHEN WE WERE REUNITED.

OH, OK.

I'M JUST SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU.

ME, TOO.

I REALLY AM.

NO MATTER WHAT, TO ME, YOU'RE FAMILY.

YEAH, WELL, YOU'RE STILL ONE OF MY KIDS.

YES.

CURRY: AND THERE IS ONE MORE SURPRISE WAITING FOR NELSON.

ALLÍ VIENEN MIS HIJOS.

MIRA.

CURRY: THE FOSTER SIBLINGS HE HASN'T SEEN SINCE HE WAS 10 YEARS OLD.

NELSON: OH, THIS IS SO INCREDIBLE!

TINA!

AY, MUCHO GUSTO.

MY GOODNESS.

I GOT GOOSEBUMPS.

WE DO ALSO.

FOR THE LONGEST TIME, I THOUGHT YOU PROBABLY THOUGHT I FORGOT ABOUT YOU ALL AND DIDN'T THINK ABOUT YOU, BUT IT WAS REALLY ON THE CONTRARY.

JOEY: WELL, MY DAD WOULD ASK ABOUT YOU AND DAVID... WOW.

AND HE WOULD WONDER HOW YOU GUYS WERE DOING, SO YOU WERE IN OUR THOUGHTS ALSO.

NELSON: I WANT TO SHOW YOU THE PICTURES OF ALL OF YOU.

LILIA: WHY DON'T YOU SIT HERE AND THEN MAYBE WE CAN LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE PICTURES?

NELSON: LET ME START WITH THIS ONE, BECAUSE THIS IS THE PICTURE THAT HELPED ME FIND YOUR HOUSE.

TINA: MY GOSH!

AND, TINA, THIS IS YOU.

THIS IS SO GOOD.

OH!

JOEY: WOW.

LILIA: OH, MY GOODNESS.

TINA: IT'S BEEN PRETTY AMAZING TO GET RECONNECTED AFTER NOT BEING TOGETHER ALL THIS TIME.

AND I THINK WE'VE ADDED ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER BACK, AND THAT'S HUGE.

IT'S REALLY HUGE.

OUR LOST BROTHER.

HOPE, AND SO YOU DON'T THINK YOU WERE LEFT OUT... [LAUGHTER] HERE WE ALL ARE.

GOSH!

NELSON: WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURES, YOU'LL SEE ME WITH MY LITTLE SMILE AND MY LITTLE SHORT HAIRCUT.

I DON'T REMEMBER HAVING AN UNHAPPY MOMENT IN ALL THAT TIME.

NELSON, VOICE-OVER: THEY HAVE RECEIVED ME WITH OPEN ARMS AS IF I HAD NEVER LEFT.

THE KIND OF LOVE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE FOR A CHILD OF YOUR OWN, AND IT'S BEEN A WHIRLWIND OF REAL, REAL DEEP EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS.

THIS HAS BEEN A TRIP BACK IN TIME, AND I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW HAPPY I AM TO BE REUNITED WITH YOU AND TO SHARE WITH YOU WHO I'VE BECOME AND WHO YOU ARE AND SEE YOUR MOM'S SMILE.

IT'S THE SAME.

[LAUGHTER] CURRY: IN FLORIDA, JUAN IS ON HIS WAY TO MEET THE FAMILY OF CAPTAIN HOOPER, THE MAN HE HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR HIS ENTIRE ADULT LIFE.

JUAN: I LEARNED YESTERDAY THAT CAPTAIN HOOPER HAD PASSED AWAY, BUT I'M EXCITED TO MEET HIS FAMILY.

A LITTLE NERVOUS, BUT IT FEELS GOOD.

IT'S LIKE A LONG, YOU KNOW, 38 YEARS OF SEARCHING FOR SOMEBODY.

HE'S MY HERO, YOU KNOW.

I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT.

WOMAN: WELL, IT'S EXCITING TO MEET SOMEONE THAT WANTS TO THANK OUR FATHER, SO THIS IS A GREAT TRIBUTE TO HIM AND HIS MEMORY.

[WOMEN CHUCKLING] HELLO, LADIES.

HI!

HI.

I'M JUAN.

HI.

I'M JEWEL.

HI, JEWEL.

HOW ARE YOU?

SO WONDERFUL TO MEET YOU.

JEWEL: YOU, TOO!

JUAN: SO I'VE BEEN ON THIS SEARCH TO MEET YOUR DAD.

AND I WAS JUST MESMERIZED BY HIM, BECAUSE FROM THE MOMENT I MET HIM, HE HAD THIS IMPRESSION ON ME LIKE, THIS IS A NICE GUY.

WE'RE IN GOOD HANDS.

MM-HMM.

JUAN: HE SAVED SO MANY LIVES THAT NIGHT.

IT STARTED TO GET REALLY, REALLY ROUGH, AND WATER WAS JUST SPLASHING.

THE WAVES WERE HITTING US.

IT WAS HORRIFIC, AND THEN HE BEGAN TO GIVE US DIRECTION BECAUSE WE WERE SO PACKED AND CROWDED THAT ANY SINGLE MOVEMENT WOULD JUST TIP THE BOAT.

SO HE WAS GIVING US DIRECTIONS TO LEAN, EVERYBODY, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOAT.

THEN ANOTHER THING THAT HE DID, AND THAT'S WHY I THINK HOW HEROIC.

SO HE OPENED A COVER AND TOLD ALL OF US TO GET IN THERE, AND I THINK WHEN I LOOK BACK AT THAT PARTICULAR DECISION THAT HE MADE, CERTAINLY I BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT PREVENTED PEOPLE FROM GOING OVERBOARD.

HE SAVED A LOT OF LIVES.

AND SAVED A LOT OF LIVES.

JUAN: PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME, WHO'S YOUR HERO?

AND I ALWAYS SAID, YOU KNOW, THE CAPTAIN OF THE "SUN HIPPIE."

OHH.

OHH.

JUAN: AND I'M SO SORRY TO HEAR THAT HE HAS PASSED BECAUSE I REALLY JUST WANTED TO GIVE HIM A BIG HUG.

JEWEL: I MEAN, THIS IS A REMARKABLE STORY, AND IT'S JUST SUCH AN HONOR THAT YOU THOUGHT ENOUGH OF HIM TO COME BACK AND SAY THANK YOU.

TO FIND HIM.

YEAH.

MAY GOD BLESS HIS SOUL.

WOMEN: YES.

JEWEL: IT WAS JUST AMAZING TO MEET HIM, TO HEAR THAT STORY.

MY DAD NEVER SHARED THAT STORY WITH US.

WE JUST THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ANOTHER DAY ON THE JOB, AND IT WAS ACTUALLY MORE THAN THAT.

THESE ARE TWO PHOTOS OF DADDY DURING THAT TIME.

OH, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THOSE.

MM-HMM.

JUAN: OH, YES!

I TOTALLY REMEMBER THAT FACE!

HANDSOME DEVIL.

YEAH.

BIG SMILE, HUH?

YES, HIS SMILE.

JOYCE, VOICE-OVER: JUST WONDERFUL LISTENING TO JUST HOW COURAGEOUS DAD WAS, AND IT JUST MAKES ME FEEL AMAZING THAT HE WAS ABLE TO HELP ALL THOSE PEOPLE.

THIS IS HIM.

JUAN: OH, YEAH.

THERE THEY ARE.

HELEN: HE WAS AN AWESOME DAD, JUST LIKE YOU REMEMBER HIM, WE REMEMBER HIM.

ALSO, HE WAS JUST AN AWESOME, AWESOME DAD.

HELEN, VOICE-OVER: THIS HONORS HIM, SO IT JUST MAKES HIM EVEN MORE LOVEABLE, MORE HUGE.

YOU KNOW, AND HE WAS ALWAYS OUR HERO.

AND HE'LL ALWAYS BE OUR HERO.

YOU KNOW, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE IF IT WASN'T FOR HIM.

DAUGHTERS: YES, YES.

YES, YES... JUAN: ITS BEEN ALMOST 4 DECADES IN WANTING TO MEET CAPTAIN HOOPER.

SO I GET TO PUT CLOSURE, TO LET SOMEONE THAT WAS CLOSE TO HIM, THANK YOU, SO THAT FELT GOOD.

JEWEL: WE'RE GOING TO LET YOU KEEP THESE.

JUAN: OH, HOW WONDERFUL.

I ALREADY HAVE PICTURES OF THE "SUN HIPPIE," SO I'M GONNA ADD THAT TO THE WALL.

AND HERE'S THE CAPTAIN THAT BROUGHT ME OVER.

YES, THIS IS VERY NICE.

IT'S A VERY MOVING DAY, VERY EMOTIONAL DAY FOR ME.

JUST ON BEHALF OF ALL OF US ON THAT BOAT-- MY FAMILY, ALL THE CUBAN REFUGEES THAT CAME, AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HE'S HELPED, THANK YOU.

CURRY: FOR TWO YOUNG BOYS FLEEING AN OPPRESSIVE REGIME, THE CARE AND COMPASSION OF STRANGERS HELPED THEM SURVIVE THEIR DARKEST HOURS, CREATING BONDS THAT SPANNED A LIFETIME.

- [NARRATOR] NEXT TIME, A TRAILBLAZING PILOT.

- THEY WOULD SAY A WOMAN DOESN'T HAVE IT PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, TO DO THIS KIND OF JOB.

- [NARRATOR] SEARCHING FOR THE FEMALE CAPTAIN WHO INSPIRED HER.

- SHE WAS DOING THIS JOB AND DOING IT GREAT.

- [NARRATOR] AND A WOMAN WHO RISKED HER LIFE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.

- I MEAN, WE REALLY DID BELIEVE WE WERE AT DEATH'S DOOR.

(BRIGHT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) ANNOUNCER: TO ORDER "WE'LL MEET AGAIN" ON DVD, VISIT SHOP PBS OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

THIS PROGRAM IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO.

IS THERE SOMEONE FROM YOUR PAST WHO YOU WANT TO MEET AGAIN?

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