“Silent Heroes is a stark reminder to the realities of life for those who choose to serve our country in secret covert operations. Countless families have paid this price. It reminds each of us of a debt we owe to men and women for whom we will never know. These are the Silent Heroes of the Cold War.”
– Francis Gary Powers, Jr.
Founder, The Cold War Museum
Kyril Plaskon grew up east of San Diego just a few miles from Tecate, Mexico. Spanish was his first formal language, as taught in first through third grades at various barrios in San Diego. He attended college at the University of Alaska–Fairbanks while living, at times, in a tent and chopping his own wood for heat. An awardwinning broadcast and print journalist, Plaskon has worked both abroad and in various U.S. states.
In 1997, he left journalism to manage a rickshaw business in San Diego. That career in transportation was short-lived, returning to journalism three months later. As a border reporter at KPBS-San Diego, he won several Society of Professional Journalist’s top awards in 2001, including Best of Show for exposing child sex tourism in Tijuana, Mexico. He has won awards also for covering cross-border electricity and pollution issues during the energy crisis.
Today, he is pursuing his master’s degree in journalism at UNLV and building a home at the base of Mount Charleston.
Plaskon is a member of the Lee Canyon Ski Patrol and enjoys participating in triathlons. He resides in Las Vegas with wife, Mina and daughter Alara.