Operation Restore Democracy, It Was 30 Years Ago Today

Thirty years ago, I joined thousands of other US and allied service members as we descended on the island nation of Haiti as part of Operation Restore Democracy.

As a Haitian Creole and French Crypto-Linguist in 3rd Group I was assigned to the JSOTF, at one point working specifically for BG Potter.

We flew on MH53s from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the airport at Port of Prince to establish our initial presence in our mission to restore the Presidency of Jean Bertrand Aristide seen here with me. You should have the look on his face when I spoke with him in both French and Kreyol.

I ended up living in a couple of locations around the Port au Prince area during my two deployments in Haiti (I also served under the UN Mission in Haiti) before leaving Group for the Air Force.