José Febles Pérez. Photo: ACRC Archive
January 19 is a fatal date in the history of the municipality of San Antonio de los Baños, province of Artemisa. That day of 1983, the Lieutenant Colonel of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) José Febles Pérez died in a plane crash in the south of the province of Havana. The contingency happened when he was driving a MIG-23 in a complex combat maneuver. As a tribute, the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution 02-14 of the Local Urban Council of the town, bears his name.
José Febles Pérez was born on March 19, 1942 in Arroyo Naranjo, Havana, amid the poverty and social inequalities suffered by the majority of the people at that time. Very early he began to work with his family, and with great effort he studied. Likewise, he forged his thoughts, identified with socialist ideas.
At the triumph of the Revolution, he joined the Association of Young Rebels, an organization in which he actively participated. He always maintained a prominent attitude within the political organizations; first as militant of the Young Communists League and later in the ranks of the Communist Party of Cuba.
He was chosen to study in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, where he graduated as a fighter pilot. Upon his return to Cuba he joined the Holguin Air Base and later the San Antonio de los Baños'. Here, he perfected his military training and won the categories of First Class Pilot, Air Combat Master, Pilot Instructor and Chief of Fighter Squadron.
His attitude within the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the outstanding fulfillment of the missions entrusted by the country's leadership (Ethiopia and the People's Republic of Angola), endorsed his rank of Lieutenant Colonel and the Medals: Distinguished Service in the Armed Forces, Internationalist First Class and Cuba-Angola.
Febles Pérez was able to combine his duty with the ability to understand people. This is only achieved by those who have a full sense of humanity, as the first and most important thing that revolutionaries must defend.
