Clayton resident writes new book

Submitted by WESTBOW PRESS

CLAYTON — Pascual Goicoechea of Clayton has written a new book titled “Moments, Memories, and Men: An Immigrant’s Trigenerational Historical Reminiscences of Pre- Castro Cuba, Fleeing to America and Serving Its Military for Forty-One Years (1881–2021).”

The book, published by WestBow Press, was recently released.

“This memoir chronicles my life, that of my father, a banker in Havana from 1939-1959, and that of his father, a career diplomat in service to the Republic of Cuba from 1904- 1940. I undertook this endeavor to reflect what the world and society was like not so long ago, in Cuba and the United States,” Goicoechea said.

The book is a descriptive account of being raised in 1950s Havana by his widowed father, later fleeing the turbulence of the times to come to America. Fleeing communism, Goicoechea’s family arrived in Texas in May 1960, where he came of age.

He soon assimilated into America and graduated from high

school. Lacking academic direction, he joined the U.S. Navy and fell in love with the rigors, discipline, ethos and culture of military life. After an eight-year enlistment, he earned a commission in the Army as an infantry officer and retired 41 years later.

At his father’s deathbed, his father asked him to consider penning his well-kept memoirs of his long military career, along with the notes he kept of his own life in Havana as well as those of his father and grandfather. The book thematically chronicles the written narratives of the three men and ends in present-day America.

“In an evoking manner, I believe I deliver the reader a window to America’s past, one that existed not so long ago. That assumption will be quickly realized by the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation, as well as the one after that,” Goicoechea said “Even inquiring ‘millennials,’ the ones that have only heard stories about ‘that America,’ their curiosity will be aroused by this immigrant’s observations.”

When asked what he wants readers to take away from the book, he said, “Hope and inspiration for America. I’d like to think that my service did not end when I retired from the military.”

Goicoechea is a graduate of Florida International University, the University of South Florida and numerous senior service schools and institutions. He resides in Clayton with his wife, Sharon. Both are involved in their community and with veterans' issues.

The book, 284 pages in length, is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.