Donald Douglas
American Power
7/4/2012
…After the ceremony was complete, after he had listened to the speeches and repeated the 141 words that made him a U.S. citizen, Marine Lance Cpl. Hua Fan admitted to being a bit overwhelmed.
“It’s going to take a while before it settles in,” said Fan, smiling broadly. The 23-year-old, who was born outside Beijing, added: “I’ve felt like a part of America for some time, but now I’m an official part.”
It was a common sentiment among the 35 active duty U.S. military members from 19 countries and territories who took the oath of allegiance in a short but emotional ceremony Monday on the flight deck of the carrier museum Midway.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time: to become a real American,” said Marine Lance Cpl. Andre Baxter, 22, from Jamaica. “And now it’s real.”
The federal government has a program to expedite citizenship applications from military personnel. Three times each year — just before Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Veterans Day — the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services holds naturalization ceremonies in San Diego strictly for members of the military…
Read the entire article at American Power.
Related: “53% of American adults agree that the United States is a nation with liberty and justice for all…”
…79% of Americans say that if they had a choice to live anywhere in the world, they would still choose to live in the United States. Just 11% disagree, while 10% more are undecided…
The article and comments are worth reading at Althouse.
Also, Poll: By 2-To-1 Margin Americans Say Country Worse Off Today Than Before Obama Took Office… More from Rasmussen.