I am including two letters written by Janet "Ray" Weininger the duaghter of Thomas P. Ray. I met Janet on May 12 in a fast in front of the Miami Herald.
August 25, 1995
Richard Nuccio
Special Advisor to the President
and the Department of State for Cuba
The White House
OEOB Room 469
Washington DC 20500
Dear Mr. Nuccio:
Last week in Miami at the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy
Conference, I had the opportunity to have a brief conversation with you
concerning the Democracia Flotilla to Cuba. It is important to the
struggle for the freedom of Cuba that our words be put in a hard copy
form.
It is best to begin by reintroducing myself to you, for if you met me
on the street you would describe me as one who represented the typical
American wife and mother, carpooling the children to school, ball games,
dance and music lessons with the dog in the back for companionship. I
like to describe myself as Pure Vanilla with a lot of Tobasco. The Tobasco
part I inherited from my father an American pilot who gave his life for
the freedom of Cuba.
On the July the 13th Flotilla of which I was a participant, I couldn't
go on the Democracia because I wasn't Cuban, but this time Ramon Saul
Sanchez said, "Janet this time we need your flag." You forewarned me
to be careful because as you said, "Cuba dosen't need another hero."
I responded ,"Yes, Cuba doesn't need another hero. They just need to
know the way home."
When my father made the decision to fly his final mission, he knew
the highest levels of the United States government had betrayed the
Brigade 2506 and Cuba under the facade of the best national interest
of the United States. He made the right decision, a decision of
conscience, not a selfish decision.
It is time to make decisions of conscience. It is time for Cuba to be
free.
Sincerely,
Janet Ray Weininger
Here is another letter to Mr. Clinton.
Dear President Clinton:
Thirty-four years ago, a six year old girl's heart shattered when she
learned her father's plane would never again break through the clouds,
never again would she run to the arms of the man in the green nomex
flight suit, never again would her cheek know the feel of her father's
whiskers. With a plaintive howl, she pleaded to God not to abandon
her father. The only sound she heard was the whimpering of her dog,
Chase, as he licked her tears, tears of pain, selfish tears.
Out of love for her father, this little girl embarked upon a mission
lasting over eighteen years to learn the fate of her father, to learn what
makes a man take off on a mission he knows will be his last. Why would
an American give his life for Brigade 2506 and Cuba during the 1961
Bay of Pigs Invasion? The answer would come as she watched his coffin
descend from the plane in the shivering mist. This son of the south made
his final flight home to Alabama, to the arms of his little girl, after
being kept in a pullout drawer of a Havana morgue since his execution.
The only request she made of the Cuban exile communtiy was for a Cuban
flag. It would be the last thing that rested on the coffin of an
American who made decisions of conscience, decisions of honor.
As the coffin was slowly lowered in the ground, Pete Ray's daughter
cradled his Cuban flag that now held tears for Cuba. He had taught
her how precious freedom is, her mission had just begun.
If you don't understand the reason for the September 2nd Democracia
Flotilla to Cuba, read Pete Ray's daughter's letter to Richard Nuccio
or ask her why an American would join the flotilla. I know what she
will tell you because I am that six-year-old girl who will never
abandon Cuba. It is time for Cuba to be free.
Sincerely,
Janet Ray Weininger
17901 SW 84th Avenue
Miami, FL 33157
(305)255-5160
Email: 71714.3004@compuserve.com