As many of you are thinking about visiting Cuba, Alan Gross had a very different experience there.
"I saw that magnificent plane, and there it said, right printed right on there beautiful, the United States of America. I get chills just thinking about that," Alan Gross said.
It's a moment he will never forget: Seeing Air Force One. Then, he was free.
"Stepping on U.S. soil was monumental. I thought that I would drop to the ground and kiss it, but that would have been too cliche," Gross said.
The Cuban government arrested Gross. He was a subcontractor for the United States Agency for International Development, helping the Jewish community in Cuba access the Internet. He spent five years as a prisoner in Cuba.
"Infested with cockroaches and ants, we had occasional visits from rodents. The physical condition was dirty and dusty," Gross said.
Gross lost more than 100 pounds and his teeth broke. But, surprisingly, he's not mad.
"Anger is like an anchor it weighs all of us down, and if we can let go of that anchor just a little bit we can move forward," Gross said.
Perhaps the most amazing part, he would go back to Cuba if he were welcome.
"The people of Cuba, Cubanos, are among the most kind-hearted, creative, talented, generous people I've ever met," Gross said.
