For the first time in 18 years, retired Lt. Col. Greg Pepin saw the baby he saved from almost certain death at the hands of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Awaz Barwari, a 22-year-old Kurd, had been approved to leave Iraq in December 1996, but her newborn child, Lava, was not being allowed to go because the infant’s name was not on Hussein’s kill list.
On Thursday, Pepin attended Lava’s high school graduation — in Georgia.
“I told the [Iraqi official] I wasn’t leaving without my baby,” Barwari told Fox 5 Atlanta, recalling the day she fled the grip of the ruthless dictator.
“He said I could leave her with other family in Iraq or not leave Iraq,” she said.
Barwari told the man she wasn’t leaving, and that’s when Pepin spotted her dilemma and stepped in.
“I told them if the baby’s name was ‘Greg,’ she could come with me under my passport,” he told the Fox affiliate. “They didn’t understand what I was trying to do at first, but then they realized I was trying to help.”
Donors rally for Baltimore woman, disabled
son left homeless by riots’ destruction
So Baby Lava became Baby Greg for the duration of the life-saving flight out of Iraq.
And 18 years later, the Iraqi family went the extra measure to find Pepin and invite him to attend her graduation.
“He changed our lives,” Barwari said. “He saved our lives and wouldn’t be here without him.”
Pepin said the moment made him “proud to be an American.”
“This is a real testament to this family’s character and their ability to make the most of their opportunities,” he said.
“I’m proud to live in a country that welcomes people in and helps them live a better life.”
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Tom@bizpacreview.com
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
- Did Sunny Hostin just admit on air to breaking the law by voting for her son? - November 8, 2022
- Stacey Abrams justifies trailing in the polls by suggesting black men are too stupid to back her - November 7, 2022
- Kevin McCarthy has message for Pelosi telling Dems to ‘change the subject’ away from inflation - October 24, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
