Courageous young Cubans offered their lives for the Revolution. Carmelo Noa Gil, was one of the Artemisa fighters chosen by Fidel to join the group that attacked the Moncada Barracks on July 26, 1953, where he lost his life. He was born on July 16, 1926 in the San Miguel farm, Capellanías, Artemisa. He was very young when he declared his opposition to the pro-imperialist dictatorships of the time, and initiated revolutionary activities against the prevailing oppressive regime.
Carmelo, who came from a peasant family, began early to till the land to support his parents. At the age of 13, he had to leave school to work in a dairy farm and contribute to the precarious economy of his family.
Batista's coup (March 10, 1952) had a real impact on Carmelo's conscience. His hatred for the tyranny grew and he began to contact the revolutionaries to join the struggle. His friendship with Julito Díaz enabled Carmelo's interpersonal relationships, with young people led by Fidel. He participated in mobilizations and military training meetings.
A place very used for the practice of shooting was the farm ''Capellanías''. There, Carmelo, along with Ciro Redondo, Pepe Suarez, and other compatriots, shot with hunting shotguns to perfect the aim, then they hid the weapons in a gallery cave in the depths of the earth.
Noa Gil was noble in character but firm in conviction, despite his youth. He joined the group that moved from Artemisa to the Cuban capital, on July 24, 1953. On the morning of that Friday, Carmelo went to the dairy where he worked, to request vacations to go to the carnival in Santiago de Cuba with some friends.
At that time, he said goodbye to his mother, and left for the Cuban capital to Santiago de Cuba. That was the last time his family saw Carmelo alive. Carmelo Noa Gil, assumed the mission of integrating the group that under the direct command of Fidel should penetrate the Moncada, the most difficult operation of the attack, responding to the confidence that the leader of the Revolution had in him. The action of this vanguard group was successfully fulfilled, despite the military failure of the rest of the plan.
In Artemisa, the disappearance of a large group of young people was known; the rumors indicated their participation in the events that took place in Santiago de Cuba and Bayamo. Carmelo Noa Gil was one of the fighters killed in the actions of the Moncada Barracks, along with his fellow Flores Betancourt Rodriguez, and Guillermo Granados Lara.
Fulfilling his will, for a time the remains of Carmelo Noa Gil rested in the necropolis of Santa Ifigenia, in Santiago de Cuba, very close to where the remains of our National Hero José Martí rest. Once the Mausoleum to the Artemisa Martyrs was built, the remains of Carmelo Noa Gil were moved to that historic site where all the young Artemisa participants in Moncada's actions rest today.
