thedrifter
04-02-03, 08:55 PM
Posthumous Citizenship Granted to Marines
By CHELSEA J. CARTER, Associated Press Writer
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. - Marine Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay and Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez gave their lives in Iraq (news - web sites), waging war for the United States, a land they loved and believed in.
No matter that it wasn't their official homeland; they were determined that one day it would be.
That day came Wednesday.
With the help of their families and fellow Marines, Garibay and Gutierrez became American citizens posthumously. The acting director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services signed the papers without fanfare, without the men's families or the media to watch.
An executive order signed by President Bush (news - web sites) last year allows family of troops killed in war to apply for posthumous citizenship. The certificates will be presented to the families if that's their wish, according to the bureau.
Gutierrez, 22, of Lomita, Calif., died March 21 at the port city of Umm Qasr, one of the first casualties of the war.
When he was 14, Gutierrez crossed into California after taking trains from Guatemala through Mexico. The orphan found a foster family, attended high school in Southern California and then joined the Marine Corps. He was assigned as an infantry rifleman with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Cardinal Roger Mahony will celebrate a funeral Mass for Gutierrez on Monday at a church in Lomita and burial will be in Guatemala, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said.
"We're proud as a family that he was able to become a citizen because that's one of the things he wanted to do. And we are honored," Lillian Cardenas, his foster sister, told The Associated Press.
Gutierrez's body was to remain in Delaware until arrangements between the United States and Guatemala were finalized, family members said.
Garibay, 21, of Costa Mesa, Calif., died March 23 in Nasiriyah, south of Baghdad. He was a native of Jalisco, Mexico, whose family moved to the United States when he was a baby. Garibay joined the Marines three years ago and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
"He thought he was an American. He probably thought he was more an American than a Mexican," said Garibay's sister Crystal.
Garibay's family was awaiting the return of his remains. Once returned, the family will hold a memorial service in Costa Mesa.
Several telephone calls to Camp Pendleton, which is coordinating the citizenship requests, were not returned.
Marine Maj. Brian Dolan, who has been helping the Garibay family, told The Orange County Register the Marine Corps facilitated the citizenship process after Garibay's mother, Simona, mentioned that it was her son's dream to become a citizen.
"I took that on as something we possibly could help out with and do the right thing," Dolan said, adding that Garibay's mother is also in the process of becoming a citizen.
"Her son died fighting for this country, so I certainly think it is warranted that her son gained citizenship and is buried as an American citizen," Dolan said.
Sempers,
Roger
By CHELSEA J. CARTER, Associated Press Writer
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. - Marine Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay and Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez gave their lives in Iraq (news - web sites), waging war for the United States, a land they loved and believed in.
No matter that it wasn't their official homeland; they were determined that one day it would be.
That day came Wednesday.
With the help of their families and fellow Marines, Garibay and Gutierrez became American citizens posthumously. The acting director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services signed the papers without fanfare, without the men's families or the media to watch.
An executive order signed by President Bush (news - web sites) last year allows family of troops killed in war to apply for posthumous citizenship. The certificates will be presented to the families if that's their wish, according to the bureau.
Gutierrez, 22, of Lomita, Calif., died March 21 at the port city of Umm Qasr, one of the first casualties of the war.
When he was 14, Gutierrez crossed into California after taking trains from Guatemala through Mexico. The orphan found a foster family, attended high school in Southern California and then joined the Marine Corps. He was assigned as an infantry rifleman with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Cardinal Roger Mahony will celebrate a funeral Mass for Gutierrez on Monday at a church in Lomita and burial will be in Guatemala, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said.
"We're proud as a family that he was able to become a citizen because that's one of the things he wanted to do. And we are honored," Lillian Cardenas, his foster sister, told The Associated Press.
Gutierrez's body was to remain in Delaware until arrangements between the United States and Guatemala were finalized, family members said.
Garibay, 21, of Costa Mesa, Calif., died March 23 in Nasiriyah, south of Baghdad. He was a native of Jalisco, Mexico, whose family moved to the United States when he was a baby. Garibay joined the Marines three years ago and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
"He thought he was an American. He probably thought he was more an American than a Mexican," said Garibay's sister Crystal.
Garibay's family was awaiting the return of his remains. Once returned, the family will hold a memorial service in Costa Mesa.
Several telephone calls to Camp Pendleton, which is coordinating the citizenship requests, were not returned.
Marine Maj. Brian Dolan, who has been helping the Garibay family, told The Orange County Register the Marine Corps facilitated the citizenship process after Garibay's mother, Simona, mentioned that it was her son's dream to become a citizen.
"I took that on as something we possibly could help out with and do the right thing," Dolan said, adding that Garibay's mother is also in the process of becoming a citizen.
"Her son died fighting for this country, so I certainly think it is warranted that her son gained citizenship and is buried as an American citizen," Dolan said.
Sempers,
Roger