Coming To America -- And Staying

In 1991, 13-year-old Nick Radoescu took his first trip away from home. That morning, he helped his mother pack the suitcases they would carry to the airport. He was excited because this would be his first trip to another country. He was even more excited because his family would now have something they had wanted for a very long time -- freedom.

Radoescu is now a first lieutenant and an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with the 75th Fighter Squadron at Pope AFB (NC). He was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1977. Romania was then a communist country under the despotic rule of Nicolae Ceausescu.

In an effort to pay off the country’s accumulated debt very quickly, the Romanian people were subjected to grim conditions during the 1980s. Standards of living plunged as Romania exported much of its food and fuel production.

“I remember people had to wait in lines for food,” Radoescu said. “We had to keep tabs on which stores got shipments in so we could get in line and hopefully get some before they ran out.”

After antigovernment demonstrations in December 1989, the Romanian leader fled the country, but was arrested by the new provisional government. He was tried, and then executed Christmas Day, ending communism in Romania.

Although Ceausescu’s execution prompted Radoescu’s family to immigrate to America, it was something they had been planning for years.

“(Immigrating) was definitely a dream of my parents,” Radoescu said. “My dad visited an aunt in America in 1981, and he applied for a visa while he was (there). He got the visa in 1986, but we couldn’t leave Romania because of the whole communism thing. You never knew who was going to turn you in for something. You always had to watch what you said and who you said it around.”

His family suffered repercussions for applying for a visa, according to Radoescu.

“My father was an electrical engineer, and my mother was an accountant,” Radoescu said. “Their promotion opportunities went away as soon as they applied for a visa to immigrate, and even more so after they got the visa in 1986.

“It went downhill pretty fast for them,” he said. “My father, who was in a leadership position in the company he worked for, was shut out of meetings. My mom was working in downtown Bucharest, and we almost had to move because she got transferred to the outskirts. They were considered traitors to the system.”

When communism fell in 1989, Radoescu said his parents initially decided to stay to see how things would turn out. After about six months, they came to the conclusion that it would take too long for the government to get organized, so they decided to leave for America.

“My father was the first to leave Romania,” Radoescu said. “He left in September of 1990, and my sister followed him in March of 1991. My mom and I stayed behind to take care of all our possessions. We either sold everything or gave it to family. Then we packed our bags and left in August of 1991, a year after my father left.”

The Radoescus settled in East Lansing (MI), where his father worked for the company he was sponsored by.

“That was his day job,” Radoescu said. “Money wasn’t all that good, so my parents had to get jobs cleaning offices at night. I helped them out with that as best I could.”

Despite his limited English, Radoescu said he wanted to start school immediately.

“I was in school within five days,” Radoescu said. “I was still jetlagged; I didn’t know where I was, and I didn’t know the language. It was a little shocking. Language was a big hurdle. I was enrolled in English as a second language class for the first month I was in school, but they kicked me out because I was picking it up too fast.”

In 1993, his father found a job in Louisville (KY), as an electrical engineer. The family soon followed.

“When I was in Michigan, I was always regarded as the Romanian, the foreigner,” Radoescu said. “When we moved to Kentucky, I got a new start because I knew the language.”

As a junior in high school, Radoescu said he was looking into different college opportunities, and his counselor suggested the Air Force Academy.

“The academy had a summer scientific seminar,” Radoescu said. “I went to it, and I liked the way the academy looked. I thought it would be a cool place to go to college. That first impression stuck with me, and that’s what made me go there.”

Radoescu said his passion for flying was triggered after his freshman year at the academy. He became involved with the soaring program and became a soaring instructor for three years.

“I had fun doing that,” he said, “and I thought it would be cool to fly for a living.”

Toward the end of undergraduate pilot training, Radoescu said he chose to fly the A-10.

“I thought the air-to-ground mission was what I wanted to do,” he said. “And I didn’t want to fly a single-engine plane, so I thought the A-10 was a good choice.”

As a new pilot, Radoescu said most of his duty day is consumed with training.

“This is my first assignment, and I’ve been here for three months, so I know nothing but training so far,” he said. “My goal right now is to become mission-qualified first, and then to become a good wing man.”

Radoescu partially credits his success to the challenges he faced as a boy.

“When I stayed back in Romania with my mom, I was the man of the house at 12 years old,” he said. “I definitely matured a lot earlier than most kids would. I felt like I could do pretty much anything I put my mind to. There was a lot put on my shoulders when I was a young kid, and it transcribed to me being here.”

Radoescu has returned to Romania twice since coming to America; once in 1993 and again in May.

“I went back in 1993 for a month when I was 15,” he said. “I missed my friends and wanted to see my family who was still there. When I came back, I appreciated America a lot more. I didn’t really want to go back to Romania after that.”

But Radoescu did return to Romania with his family in May. He learned that his parents and sister were planning a trip there, so he decided to join them for two weeks.

“I thank (my parents) every time I see them for the courage to pick up and move almost into their 50s,” he said. “There are not a lot of people who would do that.”

After living in America for 12 years, Radoescu said his vision of the American dream is the same today as it was when he was 13 years old living in Romania.

“I think America really is the country where if you work hard and you’re goal oriented in life, you’ll get where you want to go,” he said. “I’m a living example of that.”

ANN extends a special thanks to Master Sgt. Bob Blauser, 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs, USAF

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