Acknowlegments
So many people believed in this project. Through their support, a bit of history that would otherwise have gone unnoticed has found a voice. Our agent, Anne Hawkins, played a big role in that, as did our friends at Citadel Press. Special thanks to Steve Zacharius, whos been in Johns corner for a long time, and to Michaela Hamilton, whose excitement and enthusiasm are contagious to everyone.
President George H. W. Bush kept others waiting in the anteroom while he continued talking with us for nearly an hour longer than wed scheduled. As we were discussing the military heroics that are so much a part of Six Minutes to Freedom , there came a moment when his eyes filled with tears and he rhetorically asked, My God, where do we find these men? Theres no answer, of course, but we traded theories, and the moment was as special as moments get.
The meeting with President Bush never would have happened without the assistance of General Brent Scowcroft, and for that and for his valuable time, we offer thanks. Similarly, Senator Connie Mack of Florida gave generously of a morning over breakfast.
But for the intervention of Pat Barney and Sam Shockley, neither author would likely have ever met the other. Thanks to them, Kurt and Annie met John and Joy, and we all realized that wed stumbled onto something special.
Thanks also to everyone whose special cooperation helped us get this story straight: Carol and David Skinner, Charlie and Peggy Muse, Kimberly Muse, Eric Muse, Robert Perry, Marcos Ostrander, Jim Ruffer, General Fred F. Woerner, Richard Dotson, Fulo Morales, Bosco Vallarino, Rita and Alex Sosa, Roderick Esquivel, J, K, L, T, P, S, and, of course, Father Frank.
Afterword
by John Gilstrap
The world continues to turn and the calendar moves on. As we write this, seventeen years have expired since the events of this book occurred, and a full telling of the story requires stepping beyond 1989 and taking a look at what has happened to some of the players in the intervening years.
The Delta operator pseudonymously named Jim Nelson lost most of his footeverything forward of the instepin the aftermath of Operation Acid Gambit. A few months later, he requalified for Delta Force and served another twelve years.
In fact, of the twenty-three Delta operators who participated in Kurts rescue and the events that followed, all survived Operation Just Cause and lived on to serve in many missions to come; including one well-documented shootout in the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, some four years later.
Jim Ruffer and Robert Perry have both retired from military service and are living peaceful and healthy lives. Both would much prefer talking about anyone and anything but themselves. Interviewing them for this project was an honor. Marcos Ostrander lives and practices law in Panama City. Hes one of the toughest guys Ive ever met, and I mean that as a supreme compliment.
Father Frankhis real name, actually, insofar as anyone in his line of work has a real nameis (or at least claims to be) fully retired these days, living in a location we promised never to disclose. Truth be told, in the spirit of all covert operatives who make our country safe, he contributed virtually nothing during my interview, citing one of the worst memories on the planet. He did keep us from writing one big mistake, however, and for that I will always be grateful.
Toms Muoz, the pseudonymous technical genius behind La Voz de la Libertad, lost everything he owned as a result of Noriegas retribution; even his wife lost her U.S. government pension with the Panama Canal Company because her exile kept her from coming to work each day. Of the rest of Kurts compatriots, most fared pretty well, with several recovering extremely well. For all of them, the future remains bright. To a person, they hold Kurt Muse to be a national herono bitterness for what they lost; only pride for what they all tried to accomplish. We dont mention their real names in these pages, but let me attest: theyve got tales of incredible courage that have yet to be told.
Charlie and Peggy Muse (Papi and Nana) returned to Panama within weeks of the completion of Operation Just Cause. Intergraphic, the company Charlie had built from nothing to become a prosperous enterprise, was kept running by his employees during his year of exile. Every penny was accounted for, and in one of lifes happy coincidences, the shooting war stopped just one block from the businesss front door. They live and thrive today in Panama City, both in town and on the Taboga ranch, where Charlie regularly works out with his beloved horses.
Carol and David Skinner likewise returned to Panama, but not before they suffered unspeakable tragedy. While in exile in the United States, their teenage daughter, Joanna (Joey), was killed in an automobile accident. Theres a lot of pain and anger associated with that kind of horror, and the wounds heal slowly. Maybe they never really heal. I cant imagine. One of the great privileges ever granted to me came when Carol allowed me to read Joeys diary accounts of the ordeal of their evacuation. I am forever grateful.
The world needs to know one final detail about Kurt Muse: Long before life had righted itself for him, Annie, and the kids, Kurt began a tradition that has become the stuff of legend in the special operations community. With the help of some highly placed assistants, Kurt sat down on the first anniversary of Operation Acid Gambit and called every one of his rescuers to thank them for giving him back his life. For men who are used to toiling under a veil of secrecy that not only excludes thanks but also makes secret their awards for valor, hearing from one of their successes was an utter surprise.
Hes made those phone calls seventeen times now, reporting happily on the progress of his and their lives, wives and children, and even on the birth of a few grandkids along the way. December 20 has become one of the special, most-anticipated dates on the calendar.
When Kurt left that hospital tent on his first new day of freedom, he promised that he would never forget the men who liberated him.
He never has. He never will.
Final Thoughts
by Kurt Muse
It is said that one father is worth more than a hundred schoolmasters. As a boy, I remember listening intently as my father spoke of being honorable, of standing up for what is right, and of not being afraid. When I became a man, I realized the strength of his words. My father is in fact the most honorable and courageous man I know. For better or for worse, his lessons and his living example provided me with the required moral compass and the necessary courage to undertake the daunting task of helping to restore democracy to our beloved Panama.
During my saga of nearly three years, I was blessed to have been involved with and be touched by so many good peoplefriends, acquaintances, and total strangers alike. Some of you perhaps tried to visit me in prison. You maybe wrote or tried to write me in prison. You may have been a member of St. Marys Catholic Church in Ancon, where you prayed for me every Sunday. You might have been one of the wonderful souls who kept in phone contact with Anne and the children, comforting them with your caring. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
During the evening of my arrest, in the midst of armed and angry PDF soldiers, my friend Tom Ford came to my parents house to ask my sister, Carol, how he could be of assistance. It took tremendous courage for Tom to expose himself like that to the PDF, but then again, Tom and Julie Ford are truly special friends.
