CV NEWS FEED // Two Florida Knights of Columbus who flew three helicopter rescue missions into Haiti this spring saved 143 trapped people.
The Knights of Columbus newsroom reported that Florida Congressman Cory Mills on March 10 asked Knight Anthony Marinello to fly into Haiti and rescue a group of American citizens who had been trapped by gang violence as they visited an orphanage in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. Marinello was the 13th pilot Mills’ office had called. The other 12 were unable or unwilling to take on the mission.
Marinello, a former law enforcement pilot, called Benny Matos, a close friend and colleague, to enlist his help.
“When he said these Americans were serving an orphanage, the first thing I thought about was Father McGivney and his care for orphans,” Matos told KofC. “My ‘yes’ was instant after that.”
Matos, Marinello, and two other men entered Haitian airspace around 2:30 a.m. on March 12, then touched down for 67 seconds to receive 14 trapped American citizens. After minor complications at an airport in the Dominican Republic, where they stopped to catch a shuttle to Santo Domingo and change planes, they made it back to the U.S.
According to KofC, the Florida government asked Marinello to do another rescue mission within days of completing the first, as the government estimated that 400 to 600 state residents were trapped in Haiti.
The second mission was performed in coordination with Haitian officials, but complications and encounters with armed Haitians slightly impeded the mission, leading to a narrow getaway with 14 evacuees safe in the helicopter.
Marinello and Matos eventually made a third trip, where they flew back and forth between the northern city of Cap-Haïtien and Port-au-Prince in the south, picking up groups of eight to 10 people from the capital.
KofC reported that the two Knights were personally responsible for the rescue of 143 people out of over 700 evacuated from Port-au-Prince. However, they remained humble and brushed off comments about heroism, saying that they just did their duty.
“Our code—and anyone else who’s served in law enforcement—is that we respond when someone’s in trouble,” Matos told KofC. “It didn’t matter if it was average Joes or corporation presidents. All we knew was that people needed to be saved, and that was enough for me.”
“When you get the call, you have to go,” Marinello added. “Some jobs are just more dangerous than others.”
According to KofC, Marinello explained to his wife why he went on the rescue missions.
“She’d ask me, ‘Why must you help those people? Why do you put yourself at risk?’” he said. “Because, I told her, who’s going to help them if I say no? I was the 13th helicopter company they called. The 12 in front of me all said no. So at what point do you say yes?
“Sometimes you have to sacrifice and put your life on the line for others,” he added.