Navy SEAL Immigrant Drago Dzieran Part One | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 161

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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