[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 12, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S5370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING RAMON M. BARQUIN

 Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to 
honor an individual who lived in pursuit of a free Cuba and a better 
America--Colonel Ramon M. Barquin, who died at the age of 93 on March 
3, 2008. Colonel Barquin was an accomplished military leader, an 
educator, a diplomat, and an entrepreneur. Although Cuba was his native 
home, he made our Nation a better place during the years he lived in 
exile.
  Ramon was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, on May 12, 1914. At the age of 
19, he joined the Cuban Army, served his country, and graduated from 
the Cuban Military Academy in 1941. During his years of military 
service, Colonel Barquin attended the U.S. Strategic Intelligence 
School here in the U.S. Following a distinguished career in the 
military, Colonel Barquin found his passion in teaching. In the 
classroom, he worked to instill a culture of civic awareness within the 
military's ranks and eventually was promoted as director of Cuba's 
military schools.
  Following his career in Cuban military education, Barquin was 
selected to serve as Chief of Intelligence of the Cuban Army. As an 
attache to the United States, Colonel Barquin was honored in 1955 with 
the Legion of Merit for his military acumen. While serving as an 
attache, he learned of the shifting political winds in Cuba and 
conspired to prevent freedom from losing its foothold in his native 
home. I can remember as a young boy living through tumultuous times, my 
father often remarking that in Colonel Barquin, Cuba had the best hope 
for democracy. His concerns led him to participate in a failed military 
revolt against the Batista dictatorship and actively work against 
Castro's totalitarian regime. When Castro came to power, he asked 
Barquin to serve in the regime's army. Knowing the regime's repressive 
nature, Colonel Barquin instead chose to serve in an ambassadorial post 
in Europe, where he was able to flee to the United States to live in 
exile.
  After briefly living in Miami, Barquin rekindled his passion for 
education by establishing a consortium of schools in Puerto Rico. The 
consortium consists of several educational institutions, including a K-
12 military school, summer camps and an institute for civic education 
now known as Instituto de Formacion Democratica. He was recognized for 
his hard work and entrepreneurism by the Puerto Rican government as the 
1995 Educator of the Year.
  Graduates of the K-12 academy he founded had kind words of 
appreciation for the Colonel's work and character. According to one 
student, ``with the Colonel, I learned to love my country and he taught 
me the values that lead my life today.''
  As a Cuban-American, a Floridian, and a U.S. Senator, it gives me 
great pleasure to pay tribute to an individual with a legacy as awe-
inspiring as that of Colonel Ramon M. Barquin. His unwavering 
commitment to freedom and democracy, his generosity, and his zeal for 
serving others is sorely missed.

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