BY LUISA YANEZ

                                      Hundreds of Cuban exiles gathered at a Little Havana church
                                      Saturday to pay final respects to Emilio Milián -- a popular
                                      radio newscaster whose life was defined by a car bombing
                                      meant to silence him. The horrific violence directed at Milián
                                      on April 30, 1976, and his courageous return to radio after
                                      losing both legs were the prevalent themes at the morning
                                      Mass in his honor.

                                      Milián died at home Thursday at age 69.

                                      The attempt on Milián's life, prompted by his criticism of
                                      terrorist tactics used by anti-Fidel Castro forces in the late
                                      '70s, will always symbolize a dark chapter in Miami exile
                                      politics.

                                      There were few dignitaries among the tearful mourners who
                                      filled the pews at St. John Bosco Catholic Church on West
                                      Flagler Street. The crowd was mostly ``gente del pueblo,''
                                      common folk, said Milián's son, Alberto Milián.

                                      ``My father would have liked that,'' he said. ``He was one of
                                      you.''

                                      There were faithful radio listeners, family members, friends
                                      and those who viewed Milián as a hero of a nonviolent
                                      struggle to overthrow Castro.

                                      ``I listened to him every day on the radio because I loved his
                                      point of view,'' said Olga Rodriguez, a fan who never met
                                      Milián, but came to the service. ``I'll miss his voice.''

                                      Rafael Peñalver, a local activist and president of the San
                                      Carlos Institute in Key West, knew Milián for years and
                                      described him as a man of peace and a true patriot.

                                      ``Milián was totally committed to the idea of a free Cuba, but
                                      he did not think exiles should become terrorists in the
                                      process and he paid dearly for that opinion,'' Peñalver said.

                                      Miami Commissioner Wifredo ``Willy'' Gort, who met Milián
                                      while working as a reporter for Diario Las Americas, also
                                      came to pay his respects. ``I'm here today as his friend,''
                                      Gort said. ``I always knew him as a man of honor.'' In a
                                      fitting gesture, Monsignor Emilio Vallina led Saturday's
                                      service. On the day of the bombing 25 years ago, Vallina
                                      was at the St. John Bosco rectory when he heard a loud
                                      explosion. At the time, a handful of militant Cuban exiles
                                      were rocking the city with bombs.

                                      Vallina rushed to the parking lot of Spanish-language station
                                      WQBA, then a block away, to find Milián in his mangled car.

                                      ``He was conscious the whole time,'' Vallina said. ``His legs
                                      were destroyed. I gave him the last rites, but I knew this was
                                      a man with a lot of faith. I knew this wasn't the end.''

                                      In a eulogy that earned a standing ovation from the crowd of
                                      about 300, Alberto Milián told how his father pieced his life
                                      back together.

                                      ``Six months after the bombing, he walked out of a hospital
                                      on artificial legs. No warrior stood taller that day,'' his son
                                      said, pointing at his father's casket, draped by a 50-year-old
                                      Cuban flag.

                                      Those responsible for the attack were never arrested.

                                      ``They must be humiliated today, hiding in some dark
                                      corner. They didn't silence my father -- instead they made
                                      him a symbol,'' his son said.

                                      Milián, who was never aligned to any Cuban exile
                                      organization, always pushed for a free Cuba. After returning
                                      to the airwaves in 1989, he continued his work. Recently, his
                                      health and voice gave out and his son took over his duties.
                                      Alberto Milián, a former Broward County prosecutor who
                                      unsuccessfully ran for Miami-Dade state attorney last year,
                                      said his father held no bitterness toward his attackers: ``My
                                      father never felt sorry for himself, despite the hard life he
                                      led.''

                                      ``Hate will destroy you if you let it into your heart,'' Emilio
                                      Milián often told his family.

                                      He always told his children how his own father, son of
                                      Lebanese parents who settled in Cuba, had gone to work at
                                      age 4.

                                      ``My father was comfortable with working people,'' his son
                                      said.

                                      After coming to Miami 40 years ago, he had worked in
                                      construction. Eventually, he found work doing what he loved
                                      -- broadcasting on radio and fighting for a free Cuba.

                                      ``He never profited from his point of view,'' his son said. ``My
                                      parents still live in the same house they bought 35 years
                                      ago.''

                                      Seven years ago, Milián wrote an editorial about his wish to
                                      be cremated.

                                      ``When I die, don't bury my remains in a cold tomb . . . burn
                                      me and throw my ashes to the four winds.''

                                      He will get his wish, his son said.