Currently Browsing: Stories
U.S. Servicemembers become American citizens
Thursday, 05 March 2009
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – U.S. Servicemembers from all over the world gathered together in the rotunda of the Al Faw Palace here on March 3 to take part in a ceremony they will not soon forget.
Two Hundred and fifty Servicemembers, representing 65 countries but fighting for one, took the oath of allegiance during the ceremony and officially became United States citizens through naturalization.
“American citizenship means that we each commit ourselves to our community, our state, and to our country,” said MultiNationalCorps - Iraq Commanding General Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin. “What it means to be American is hard to put into words; it isn’t our race, or our birth or education, or even our citizenship, but it’s our shared feeling.”
Once the Soldiers recited the oath, they were each presented with a certificate showing their citizenship through naturalization and given a U.S. flag to commemorate the day they became Americans.
Sudan native Spc. Wilson, 10th Mountain Division, said he is excited to become a citizen of the U.S. and that he has been waiting for this day for a long time.
“I know it has been a long journey for each of you, but today you have arrived,” Austin said in his address to the Soldiers. “Today you start your new journey as Americans, and I want to congratulate you for this great achievement.”
Now that Wilson has the privileges of being an American, he wants to get a passport and return to Sudan and see his family for the first time in 17 years. He also said his quality of life has improved greatly in the last eight years he has spent in the U.S., and plans to further it even more by enrolling in school to get a higher degree of education.
“As men and women in uniform, and as citizens of our great nation, I wish you all well in your future endeavors and I encourage you to fully enjoy the privileges of citizenship that you have so rightfully earned,” Austin concluded. “May God bless you and your families, and may God continue to bless our great nation.”
Related Photographs
