The call to service came later in life for Adam San Miguel, but he said it was impossible to ignore.

“I just graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy,” he said proudly, “actually, a month ago, and now I’m an officer.”

San Miguel’s parents immigrated to the United States from Cuba during the “ Freedom Flights” of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when roughly 300,000 Cubans fled the country, seeking freedom and opportunity. San Miguel, 40, says he felt a responsibility to give back.

“My family came here with nothing, just looking for freedom, looking for someplace where they can raise their family and not be under communism,” said San Miguel of Hudson County. “We were given that. I’ve been given all these opportunities, and they don’t come free.”

San Miguel balances a wife, two young

See Full Page