June 2017

PROFILE
Daniel Perez with his
life partner, Robin S.
Crouch, at a fundraiser
for the Patriots
Placement organization.
by Aaron Krause
America is Parkland resident
Daniel Perez’s “adopted mother,”
the Cuban native said.
The nation welcomed him and his
family in 1960 after the Cuban
Revolution put Fidel Castro in
power and forever changed the lives of
thousands of Cuban natives who, if they
were lucky enough, were able to flee to
freedom.
Perez, a member of the board of trustees
for the American Museum of the Cuban
Diaspora, was among the original political
exiles to leave their homeland for the
United States.
“We are the most profound
example of the American
dream,” he said.
On Oct. 10, 1960, an almost 4-year-old
Perez, his mother, Gloria (who died in
1998), father, Gonzalo (“89 and kicking”),
and paternal grandmother, Irene (who
died in 1968), boarded a Delta DC-3
bound for Chicago’s Midway Airport,
where they arrived amid a snowy
landscape. Perez said he and his family
settled in Chicago because it was one of
the most industrialized cities in the world.
“I came (to the U.S.) by the grace of God,”
said the 60-year-old Perez, who speaks
quickly and with a quiet conviction.
Ever since Perez was 14, he has felt an
obligation to give back to the country
that accepted him and his family, allowing
them to pursue the American Dream.
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At the time, when Perez
walked to school, he
would notice blue stars
in the windows of homes, a symbol that
a member of the household is serving in
the armed forces. The then youngster
also noticed gold stars, which symbolize
servicemen and women killed in service.
He joined the Reserve Officers Training
Corps in his freshman year in high school.
Six months before graduating high school,
Perez joined the military on his 17th
birthday, five minutes after midnight.
Perez served in the Army with a
specialized unit involved with national
security. He was stationed stateside
and abroad. “It was gratifying, very
much so,” Perez said about his
service.
He entered the military in 1974, during
Richard Nixon’s presidency and left in
1995, when Clinton was president. He
also served as secretary of the Vietnam
Veterans of America Florida State Council.
Perez qualified as a Vietnam veteran
since his military service came during the
conflict in that country. Vietnam veterans
coming home were “the guys who taught
me everything in life,” Perez said. “They
were my cadre.”
Perez also served the state by
working with lawmakers in Florida and
Washington, D.C., to create and enforce
laws that would benefit Vietnam veterans.
One of those laws made Florida the first
state to become a “Veterans First State,”
meaning it gave preference to veterans
when jobs would open.
JUNE 2017
In his civilian jobs, Perez has also served
his community by, for example, cracking
down on unethical car towing practices
through one of his companies. Instead of
immediately towing cars, drivers receive
two to three warnings before action is
taken. That action comes in the form
of booting cars, which saves the driver
money and worry that his car might have
been stolen, Perez said.
He got involved with the American
Museum of the Cuban Diaspora while
visiting the facility in February during a
membership drive. A trustee suggested
he consider joining the board. “I said ‘yes,
absolutely,’” Perez recalled. A week later,
he was a board member.
“I think it’s done wonderful work,” Perez
said about the museum. He said he’s just
sad he’s not able to share the experience
with his mother. “She is the person who
made me into who I am today,” he said.
While he views America as his “adopted
mother,” he sees Cuba as “forbidden
fruit;” it’s “so close, yet so far.” “I will
not step onto Cuban soil until the entire
regime is gone and the country returns to
a democratic republic,” he said. P