Tchicaya Missamou

Raised in the Republic of Congo during their civil war, Missamou was recruited by rebel forces in 1992 and taught to fight at age thirteen. In 1997, he fled his homeland, eventually arriving in America and joining the U.S. Marine Corps. In 2003, he was instrumental in finding and releasing captured Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq. Missamou founded Warrior Fitness in Valencia, California, inspired by his military experience and his belief that freedom is not something to take for granted—it’s something to live. His memoir, “In the Shadow of Freedom,” is the uplifting story of his quest to achieve his own American Dream.