He is an exile and a samaritan. He is a U.S. Army deserter and a social worker, coaching baseball for disadvantaged kids in his adopted home of Caen, France. 

It all started in 1972, when Melvin McNair was part of a group that hatched a plan to hijack a plane to Algeria.

McNair and his co-conspirators said they were escaping anti-Black racism here in the U.S. Their plan was to become involved with members of Black Panther party in Algiers. They ended up settling in France, where Melvin still lives.

He's become a powerful force for good in his Normandy community. Today, Melvin is still wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice for his role in hijacking Delta flight 841. So, he can never return home to America. 

Now, for the first time, McNair is sharing his story with a U.S. media outlet.

USA TODAY’s Nichelle Smith and Kim Hjelmgaard sit down with host Claire Thornton to discuss Melvin's story and to ask the question "has Melvin redeemed himself all these years later?"

More from the Never Been Told project:

‘First martyr of the voting rights movement’: How a Black man’s death in 1965 changed American history

On the trail of Jimmie Lee Jackson, I found my civil rights roots

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