Drago Dzieran was born in Poland while under Communist rule. After spending time in a Communist prison (also known as a Gulag) as a political prisoner for his activism against against censorship, he immigrated to the United States in 1984, becoming a full U.S. Citizen in 1991. That same year he joined the Navy, where he'd go on to be assigned to SEAL Team 2, SEAL Team 4, and Naval Special Warfare as a BUD/S Instructor. He's been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, The Navy Commendation Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal, among others.
Since then, Drago's helped to found The Navy SEALs Fund, freedom-of-speech platform ConnectZing, and written a book about his experiences called 'The Pledge To America: One Man's Journey from Political Prisoner to U.S. Navy SEAL'. His story serves as a reminder that America's a country of builders - people who can come together, from far and wide, and build a life for themselves and their family with a little bit of hard work and some good old-fashioned elbow grease. But how did he escape a Communist Gulag? What led him to enlist to fight on behalf of another country? And how the hell did Drago get to be so damn tough? Let's meet the man.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
03:31 - Missing Poland
09:31 - Concerning Communism
14:35 - Born into Socialism
23:23 - Poor in Poland
41:03 - Polish Education, Socialist Values
52:51 - Sports for the State
59:08 - Warsaw with Dad
01:08:08 - Learning to Box
01:18:15 - Dad Wanted to Believe
01:23:19 - Running the Bubble-Gum Scam
01:28:25 - Socialized Medicine, State-Run Media
01:42:14 - Firearms, Martial Law, & Military Regime
01:53:54 - A Three-Year Prison Sentence
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Support Drago Dzieran -
Book - The Pledge to America: https://www.amazon.com/Pledge-America-Journey-Political-Prisoner/dp/1637583710
Website: https://dragodzieran.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dragodzieran
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Sponsors:
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MUD/WTR
Visit https://www.mudwtr.com/mike to support the show and get up to 20% off on participating products!
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