thedrifter
03-12-08, 09:09 AM
Serving their adopted country
Marines in Iraq fight for their American dreams
By MEG JONES
mjones@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 11, 2008
Habbaniyah, Iraq - Nathan Phan already had taken the Marine oath to defend America when he raised his right hand again.
The second oath was to recite the Pledge of Allegiance on the day he became a U.S. citizen.
Born in Vietnam, Phan, a second lieutenant in Milwaukee-based Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, moved to America when he was 5 or 6. His parents had grown up during the Vietnam War, remembered getting Hershey's bars from the GIs fighting in their country and decided one day they would seek the American dream.
Now their son wears the uniform of a U.S. Marine.
"I think it means more to fight for a country of choice rather than the country you're born in," said Phan, 27, who became a Marine 10 years ago.
"That sets you apart because you made a conscious decision to choose the type of lifestyle and freedom and values of this country as opposed to the county where you were born," he said.
Phan is one of four Marines in Fox Company who were born or grew up in a foreign country.
Maj. Guillermo Rosales, 38, moved with his family from Mexico when he was in grade school.
Cpl. Folleh Tamba, 30, was born in the U.S. but moved to Liberia when he was an infant after his parents decided to return to their homeland. He came back to America when he was 17.
Lance Cpl. Adjetevi Adjete, 23, traveled to Minnesota from his western African nation of Togo to study biochemistry and now lives in Milwaukee.
Green card needed
American citizenship is not required for joining the U.S. Marines, but applicants must have a green card. Military members can speed up the citizenship process by serving a minimum of 30 days in a combat zone. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who want to become U.S. citizens can realize their wish within months instead of years and do not have to pay the application fee.
That's something Adjete, the only one of the four who is not a U.S. citizen, hopes will happen in a few months.
Adjete, who worked as a security guard at the Milwaukee Public Library downtown before his deployment, spoke French in Togo and studied in Paris but wanted to go to college in America. He became fluent in English in the U.S. and decided to join the Marines, but had to wait three years until he could get a green card.
"It was always my dream to join the military," Adjete said. "The Marines are the most elite fighting force in the world. So I decided to join the best."
Tamba is an independent filmmaker from Chicago on his second deployment to Iraq. He earned a Purple Heart during his first tour when he and other Marines tried to stop a car bomb speeding toward their patrol. It blew up and punctured his arms with shrapnel.
Growing up in Liberia, where he spoke two tribal languages, Tamba vividly remembers living under an authoritarian rule and random violence, not unlike Iraq under Saddam Hussein, he said.
"We had neighbors disappearing in the night. They were killed. I fully know what freedom of speech means," said Tamba, who was forced to become a child soldier. "There was a lot of civil war in Liberia, so I'm not new to war."
Tamba moved to Liberia with his family when he was 13 months old. He returned to the United States for high school and enlisted in the Marines in December 2003. His two sisters and brother also have served in the American military.
He carries a small video camera in a pouch on his body armor and is making a movie of his experience in Iraq.
'That's what drives me'
Rosales was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. His family moved to Chicago when he was 7 or 8 because his father wanted a better life for his family. His dad worked at a candy factory, and his mother worked at a Sears store. Rosales and all three of his siblings earned college degrees.
He learned English by watching documentaries and reading books about World War II.
Rosales, who is a manager for Motorola, visited a military recruiter the day after he became a U.S. citizen in 1995. Eventually he took a leave from his job to join the Marines at the age of 28 and became an officer.
"Every time we had Veterans Day and Memorial Day it was just a day off for most people, but not for me. Here I was working in corporate America, earning good money and reaping the benefits while young men were fighting for that freedom," Rosales said.
"My family benefited from everything this country has to offer. That's what drives me," said Rosales, who is serving his second deployment in Iraq.
Phan was only 2 years old when he fled Vietnam in his father's 30-foot fishing boat along with five or six other families. They were rescued at sea by the Hong Kong navy and spent four years in refugee camps before immigrating to California.
Phan's grandfather had been mayor of a village near Hue and had acted as a guide to American soldiers. Phan said his father took a great risk moving his family to the United States, but he wanted "a better life, the American dream."
On the day he took his oath of citizenship, Phan remembers standing outside a building in Sacramento, Calif., for three hours in a line that stretched around the block.
"This country has given us everything, and it's our turn to give back," he said.
Ellie
Marines in Iraq fight for their American dreams
By MEG JONES
mjones@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 11, 2008
Habbaniyah, Iraq - Nathan Phan already had taken the Marine oath to defend America when he raised his right hand again.
The second oath was to recite the Pledge of Allegiance on the day he became a U.S. citizen.
Born in Vietnam, Phan, a second lieutenant in Milwaukee-based Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, moved to America when he was 5 or 6. His parents had grown up during the Vietnam War, remembered getting Hershey's bars from the GIs fighting in their country and decided one day they would seek the American dream.
Now their son wears the uniform of a U.S. Marine.
"I think it means more to fight for a country of choice rather than the country you're born in," said Phan, 27, who became a Marine 10 years ago.
"That sets you apart because you made a conscious decision to choose the type of lifestyle and freedom and values of this country as opposed to the county where you were born," he said.
Phan is one of four Marines in Fox Company who were born or grew up in a foreign country.
Maj. Guillermo Rosales, 38, moved with his family from Mexico when he was in grade school.
Cpl. Folleh Tamba, 30, was born in the U.S. but moved to Liberia when he was an infant after his parents decided to return to their homeland. He came back to America when he was 17.
Lance Cpl. Adjetevi Adjete, 23, traveled to Minnesota from his western African nation of Togo to study biochemistry and now lives in Milwaukee.
Green card needed
American citizenship is not required for joining the U.S. Marines, but applicants must have a green card. Military members can speed up the citizenship process by serving a minimum of 30 days in a combat zone. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who want to become U.S. citizens can realize their wish within months instead of years and do not have to pay the application fee.
That's something Adjete, the only one of the four who is not a U.S. citizen, hopes will happen in a few months.
Adjete, who worked as a security guard at the Milwaukee Public Library downtown before his deployment, spoke French in Togo and studied in Paris but wanted to go to college in America. He became fluent in English in the U.S. and decided to join the Marines, but had to wait three years until he could get a green card.
"It was always my dream to join the military," Adjete said. "The Marines are the most elite fighting force in the world. So I decided to join the best."
Tamba is an independent filmmaker from Chicago on his second deployment to Iraq. He earned a Purple Heart during his first tour when he and other Marines tried to stop a car bomb speeding toward their patrol. It blew up and punctured his arms with shrapnel.
Growing up in Liberia, where he spoke two tribal languages, Tamba vividly remembers living under an authoritarian rule and random violence, not unlike Iraq under Saddam Hussein, he said.
"We had neighbors disappearing in the night. They were killed. I fully know what freedom of speech means," said Tamba, who was forced to become a child soldier. "There was a lot of civil war in Liberia, so I'm not new to war."
Tamba moved to Liberia with his family when he was 13 months old. He returned to the United States for high school and enlisted in the Marines in December 2003. His two sisters and brother also have served in the American military.
He carries a small video camera in a pouch on his body armor and is making a movie of his experience in Iraq.
'That's what drives me'
Rosales was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. His family moved to Chicago when he was 7 or 8 because his father wanted a better life for his family. His dad worked at a candy factory, and his mother worked at a Sears store. Rosales and all three of his siblings earned college degrees.
He learned English by watching documentaries and reading books about World War II.
Rosales, who is a manager for Motorola, visited a military recruiter the day after he became a U.S. citizen in 1995. Eventually he took a leave from his job to join the Marines at the age of 28 and became an officer.
"Every time we had Veterans Day and Memorial Day it was just a day off for most people, but not for me. Here I was working in corporate America, earning good money and reaping the benefits while young men were fighting for that freedom," Rosales said.
"My family benefited from everything this country has to offer. That's what drives me," said Rosales, who is serving his second deployment in Iraq.
Phan was only 2 years old when he fled Vietnam in his father's 30-foot fishing boat along with five or six other families. They were rescued at sea by the Hong Kong navy and spent four years in refugee camps before immigrating to California.
Phan's grandfather had been mayor of a village near Hue and had acted as a guide to American soldiers. Phan said his father took a great risk moving his family to the United States, but he wanted "a better life, the American dream."
On the day he took his oath of citizenship, Phan remembers standing outside a building in Sacramento, Calif., for three hours in a line that stretched around the block.
"This country has given us everything, and it's our turn to give back," he said.
Ellie