TAMPA, Fla. — One week ago, Ron and Linda Neumann didn't believe they would return to US soil. The Melbourne couple spent the last 18 months in Israel working toward dual citizenship. But things took a bad turn when their new home became a warzone.
Linda recalled the morning that everything changed.
"I had gotten up early, really early, more than usual. Because I hadn't slept well the night before. And I was reading my Bible, doing my devotions with the Lord. And I heard this small noise," she recalled.
Linda said she initially thought it was thunder, acknowledging how odd it is to get a thunderstorm in their area.
"Then the thunder got louder and louder, and then the sirens went off. There's no way to describe what that does to you. And we knew what to do. We had been told months before. The sirens go off; you go to shelter. Fear, fear. I've never experienced anything at all like that," she finished.
That's why they did everything in their power to try to return to the U.S.
"I thought we were stuck. I didn't know how to get out of there. And it was pretty bad in the area we were in because we're right around Tel Aviv, a little south of it. It was getting a lot of hits," Ron said.
He said they tried multiple times to get a flight out of Israel.
"We had two flights set up, and they both were canceled," Ron said.
Ron's the child of a Holocaust survivor. He's also a Vietnam veteran. He said he used that grit from his past to try to find a way to safety.
"We were stuck there. We had no way out. I was trying, I went to the government, Florida website, and somebody was supposed to contact me. They didn't. And I don't know what happened there and the government website, and so I sent the link to a friend of ours down in Jerusalem. In case they wanted to evacuate, and it was for the, I think, the Florida website. And then next morning, it was bombs going off and everything and also my phone from my friend, she says, 'I talked to his Project Dynamo, and they have a plane leaving.' I said, "What? She says, 'Yes, and contact them.'"
In no time, the two and their dog, Annie, were preparing to board a chartered plane headed for Tampa.
"I'm humbled to think that people risked their lives to come and get us and our fellow Jews to come and get us out of a war zone," said Linda.
On Sunday night, 270 Americans, 91 of whom were children, one person from the Czech Republic, and four dogs, touched down at Tampa International Airport.
"I saw all these people standing around, then everybody started cheering and stuff. I got goosebumps. I never experienced anything like that. You know, it was like, unbelievable," Ron said.
Project Dynamo is a veteran-led nonprofit based out of Tampa. The team focused on rescuing Americans, be it from a warzone or a natural disaster. Bryan Stern, the CEO, said it was their fourth combat deployment since they began in 2021. That's not including responses for Hurricane Ian and the wildfires in Maui.
"This mission, this particular mission, that completed yesterday, was our 602nd rescue operation in 25 months, which equates to just under 6,800 people rescued in 24 months, so pretty significant," Stern said.
This is the first rescue that was made possible with money from a government agency.
"We've done everything from breaking Americans out of jail from Russia to Americans from Afghanistan that were left behind, all kinds of things. And this is the first time where any government agency has assisted us financially," he said.
While the donation-based rescue group paid for the mission, the State of Florida footed the bill for the private charter to bring the Americans back.
We've asked the Governor's Office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management numerous times just how much the flight cost. They haven't been able to provide an exact number to us.
However, Stern did provide some context based on his own research.
"I don't know what they negotiated. The Florida Department of Emergency Management did all the contracts and bidding and all that stuff for the planes. But I know what we were being quoted to do it ourselves. So that's where I came up with that number. We've had everything from $1.2 million up to $2 million for an aircraft about that size," Stern said.
He said the price is higher due to the insurance to fly that plane into a warzone.
"The insurance; flying a multi-million-dollar airplane into a war zone with a surface-to-air missile threat," he explained.
Kevin Guthrie, Director of the Division of Emergency Management, did say there are plans in place to send more resources to Israel to help rescue Americans.
Guthrie said Florida will next be sending back supplies on two cargo planes. Those flights leave as early as Monday evening.
After, he said Florida was expecting at least two more rescue flights. Guthrie estimated they could happen over the next two to three days, with planes (if full) lifting as many as 550 more Americans from either Israel or areas where the federal government has dropped those fleeing, like Cyprus.
Right now, Project Dynamo isn't officially overseeing those missions, but the team is still working to rescue more Americans.
We asked if that includes from other countries, like Palestine and Lebanon. Stern said if an American needs to be rescued, he plans to try to rescue them.
"We've been in contact with some of the families of hostages, which is terrible. And we've also been in contact with some of the some of the folks that are stuck in Gaza. There's no reason for a single American to be stuck in a warzone," Stern said.
He said right now, there are about 1,000 applicants for help to process, which includes families, meaning thousands of people in need of rescue.
Stern said no matter what, there's no price tag on rescuing Americans, especially if it means having the chance to make friends like Ron and Linda.
"I think Project Dynamo is worthy of any donations. I mean, you've got our donations monthly now," Linda said.
