Earning Amnesty?
Want to talk about earning amnesty? Here's a guy who earned it the RIGHT way! Michael Yon should win a Pulitzer for his coverage of Iraq and our heroes.
"While Walt lay in the hospital the second time, with bomb fragments in his left eye, the first thing he said to his commander LTC Erik Kurilla was that he was worried about losing the chance to become a US citizen. Although his citizenship ceremony in Baghdad was only a few days away, Walt wouldn’t make it. After this latest IED nearly blew him asunder, he’d be on a fast plane home before then. Problem was home was not officially home, and his green card had expired while he was off to war. I joked with Walt that he was lucky INS didn’t raid his place in Iraq and drag him away. (INS would have had to win a firefight against his platoon and then the entire battalion before that would happen.)"
Thank you, Michael, for bringing these stories to America. We don't hear enough of the good news about our military.
"While Walt lay in the hospital the second time, with bomb fragments in his left eye, the first thing he said to his commander LTC Erik Kurilla was that he was worried about losing the chance to become a US citizen. Although his citizenship ceremony in Baghdad was only a few days away, Walt wouldn’t make it. After this latest IED nearly blew him asunder, he’d be on a fast plane home before then. Problem was home was not officially home, and his green card had expired while he was off to war. I joked with Walt that he was lucky INS didn’t raid his place in Iraq and drag him away. (INS would have had to win a firefight against his platoon and then the entire battalion before that would happen.)"
Thank you, Michael, for bringing these stories to America. We don't hear enough of the good news about our military.
This is NOT amnesty! He was going through the paperwork, and he even proved his love for this country which is his just as much as anyones.
Keep those stories coming, Michael!
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Rosemary, you take everything so seriously. It's a play on words, my dear.
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Here, here! Soldier, you've earned your citizenshipt the hard way. If your store weren't thousands of miles away, I'd be in the car headed there this morning to pick up something to wash down with my morning coffee!
This kind of story should be motivational to AMERICAN young men and women. In a time where THEY won't sign up and serve...isn't it a shame that we've got people that want to become AMERICANS willing to stand up straight, and defend you??? I suppose we have to add military service to the list of jobs that AMERICANS won't do. Isn't it a shame we spend millions of dollars on the Selective Service System with no intention of every exercising that option again?
Granted, military service isn't for everyone...but for the majority, it can serve to build personal discipline, the pride of being part of something larger than themselves, and finally "earn" the right to be called a citizen. Yes, that's right, I'm a believer in the Robert Heinlein (Starship Troopers) citizenship model where the path to citizenship for all citizens flows through service to their fellow countrymen. Be it military, civil, or medical/emergency services, ALL voting citizens would have to have some sort of service under their belt before they got to the ballot box.
See you on the high ground...
MajorDad1984
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