Rebecca Hagelin, a WND columnist and vice president of the Heritage Foundation, was vacationing on Little Gasparilla Island this morning and filed the story after spending time with the refugees.

LITTLE GASPARILLA ISLAND, Fla. – David Tagle was in the right place at the right time, with a good head on his shoulders, and became the unlikely star of the day.

Early this morning, 27 Cuban refugees reached the shores of Little Gasparilla Island, a small Florida barrier island, to new-found freedom. Tagle was on the scene shortly thereafter and became their only means of communication with law enforcement officials who had raced across the bay after receiving a call about their arrival from island resident, Lowell McElroy.

The stunned home owners and vacationers awoke this morning to the Cubans who were dropped on their shores before sunrise. The refugees wandered down the beach, ran into McElroy near his residence, and requested he call the authorities.

Tagle, an 18-year old graduate of Yorktown High School in Arlington, Va., was vacationing with our family on this small barrier island on the Gulf Coast. The soon-to-be freshman at Brown University knew he should try to help.

Word quickly spread through the island of the aliens' presence, and Tagle was with us when my friend, Priscilla Carr, called my cell phone.

"When we got the call they were here, I realized I might be the only person on the island who knows Spanish. I grabbed a big jug of water and headed off on the golf cart to see if they needed help," Tagle said, as he appeared to still be processing the morning's events.

Islanders extend hospitality to new arrivals (Photo: Gene Surdam)

While they patiently waited to be taken off the rustic island, which has no bridge to the mainland, Tagle asked what they needed.

"All they had were the clothes on their back. The islanders gave them clothes out of their own closets and several of them put on clean shirts," Tagle said.

Other islanders had instinctively already brought food and water to the group. Conversation was virtually non-existent before Tagle arrived on the scene.

Barbara Pendergrass, an amateur photographer and realtor who sells property on the picturesque island, told me a friend called her early this morning and said, "'There are ten deputies in your front yard along with 27 Cubans.' I immediately jumped up and looked out the windows and grabbed my camera."

Marina, Barbara and Scott Pendergrass' nine-year-old astute daughter went outside, too. The blond-haired little girl, who is just learning Spanish, quickly sized-up that the strangers could not speak English, so she ran back inside the house and grabbed a couple of her Spanish picture books to try and communicate with them. When I asked Marina why she thinks they are here, she said, "They came from Cuba because they want to be free because at home they work like slaves."

Scott Pendergrass called Carr, who lives about three houses down from him toward the beach, with the amazing news. At first she thought Pendergrass, who is a practical joker and friend, was kidding. Carr soon realized he was not, in fact, joking. She then called and shared the news with me.

Carr joined the group in front of McElroy's house in minutes, and picked up information as Tagle arrived and served as new-found friend for the jubilant refugees – and sole translator for law enforcement officials.

"Everybody sounded as if they had somebody waiting for them here in Florida. They borrowed cell phones from some of us and made calls to family in nearby towns. As soon as they made the phone calls, incoming calls started coming in for them. It's clear they all have someplace to go," Carr said.

"Here you have professionals, people who have built a life who are willing to leave it all – that's desperate and impressive," Carr said, reflectively.

"I was just really pleased at how well received they were by all who gathered to see them. I just stood back and watched it all unfold. It was a historic moment for me. Had it not been for David, the time would not have been as joyful for everyone, and the strangers wouldn't have felt as welcome. As soon as he arrived on the scene and began speaking to them in Spanish, they lit up and swarmed around him. David was put there for a reason today, and he knew just what to do."

One officer remarked later that until Tagle arrived, law enforcement officials could only communicate with the refugees in hand motions. He credits him for helping make the situation very easy for everyone.

Tagle found it odd none of the nearly dozen local, state and national officials on site could speak Spanish.

"You would think that on the coast in Florida where there are many attempted landings, and where Spanish is so common, that at least one of the officers would know the language," he said. "I was impressed, however, with how well the Cubans were treated by the officers and people on the island.

"Home owners and vacationers started bringing food for the group who were hungry, but did not appear to be famished. They all looked healthy," Tagle added.

"The stories humbled me. I kept thinking of how fortunate we are to be vacationing, and these people are risking everything just to be here," Tagle said.

"One man told me that his wife and two children escaped seven years ago and he had been waiting by himself to join them. They live in Miami. He was introspective and calm, and was interested in me, too. He seemed to be taking it all in that he was finally here.

"Today was a reinforcement of my realization last year that I want to be involved in international relations," Tagle said.

Tagle, whose parents are originally from Bolivia, having immigrated in the 1960's, learned Spanish first as a child but became rusty as he began going to school and focusing on English. Last year he visited relatives in Bolivia and began to work on strengthening his Spanish. He also studied French extensively in high school, and attended the prestigious Governor's Academy for Foreign Languages in Virginia last summer, where was immersed in French.

"Today was an eye-opener for me of how important it is to practice and know my Spanish, and to put effort into knowing the cultures and background of others," Tagle said. "I feel like today is a complete sign from God above that the field of work I have chosen is what I'm supposed to do with my life."

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