December 19, 2006
"Alfred was once asked why he volunteered to join and to go to Vietnam when he was not even a citizen. And he said, 'I was always an American in my heart.' Alfred Rascon, today we honor you as you have honored us by your choice to become an American and your courage in reflecting the best of America."
President Bill Clinton
Medal of Honor Ceremony
February 2000
From the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, immigrants--documented as well as undocumented--have served valiantly as members of United States military forces.
Today, immigrants serve in all branches of the U.S. military and are a vital resource in the Global War on Terrorism. In recognition of their contribution, undocumented soldiers serving honorably in the military are granted significant advantages in the naturalization process. Undocumented soldiers killed in the line-of-duty have been given their citizenship posthumously.
Undocumented immigrants who have served in the U.S. military and by doing so earned their citizenship include Alfred Rascon, an indocumentado from Mexico who won the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War and later became a U.S. citizen and eventually the Director of the Selective Service System.
Rascon was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, he immigrated with his family to Oxnard, California, where he attended school and grew up thinking he was an American. After graduating from high school in 1963, Rascon joined the Army.
For more on immigrants in the U.S. Military read:
Essential to the Fight: Immigrants in the Military, Five Years After 9/11 by Margaret D. Stock The American Immigration Law Foundation
Posted by USTaino at 11:27 AM
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