Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Tony Spain | Spc. Pablo Mora, Company B, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Tony J. Spain
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The 82nd Airborne Division received its nickname, "All Americans," in August 1917 after realizing it had members from all 48 states.
Today, the "eighty-deuce" is still known as the "All American" division, but there is a new kind of paratrooper in its ranks. A paratrooper, who wasn't born in the United States and doesn't even have U.S. citizenship, serves and fights alongside his American brothers.
Spc. Pablo Mora, Company B, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, was born in Coatepeque, Guatemala, and moved to the United States permanently in 1994 at the age of 8 with his mother.
Mora joined the Army in September 2004. He went to airborne school and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. He has deployed twice; once to Iraq and he currently serves in Afghanistan, all while not being a U.S. citizen.
Many might find it hard to fight for a country without being considered a citizen and sharing some basic rights, such as voting in elections, with his fellow paratroopers; Mora doesn't see it as an issue.
"I joined the Army because this country has a lot of liberties a lot of other countries do not have," said Mora, who first came to the U.S. at 3 months old for an illness. "A lot of people do not appreciate the fact that you can do or say something in America without going to prison or [having] any action taken against you.
"In America you have the ability to go to McDonalds at two in the morning," he said. "Where other countries or other places don't even have that, or they are starving and don't even have a place like McDonalds to go to."
Mora says he will never take the liberties he receives in the United States for granted because of where he has come from.
"When I lived in Guatemala there was a lot of guerrilla warfare," the specialist said. "There was a lot of fighting going on all around. At night time you could hear gunshots."
Because of his experiences in Guatemala, Mora said he may have a different perspective than some of his fellow paratroopers. Mora understands some are just out of high school and that they want to serve their country, but after awhile some lose perspective of the "big picture" about bringing freedom and making Iraq and Afghanistan better places.
"For me, I want to do my time, but if I can help a person in Iraq or Afghanistan get liberated from the enemy, from people who are ultimately against the right of freedom, that means a lot to me," said Mora.
Mora is currently going through the process of getting his citizenship with the help of the Army.
"The Army has made the process go by lot faster," the paratrooper said. "If I was a regular civilian it would take around two to three years and $2,000 to get it done. With the Army, it is only going to take six to eight months, with no money out of pocket."
In 2004, President George W. Bush signed an executive order allowing all active-duty, non-U.S. citizens serving as of Sept. 11, 2001, to apply for U.S. citizenship without waiting the usual three years, and without having to be physically present in the U.S. in order to apply.
Mora is not alone in his quest for citizenship. According to the Department of Defense there are approximately 30,000 service members in the military serving without U.S. citizenship.
Immigrants serving in the military may be eligible to apply for citizenship if they can demonstrate good moral character, have no criminal record, speak English, demonstrate knowledge of U.S. government and history and take an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution. The applicant must also have served honorably during one year of conflict, have a green card, or have been present in the U.S. at time of enlistment. The application must be filed within six months of discharge.
"I think it is a great thing what President Bush did in allowing these guys to get their citizenship," said Staff Sgt. Edward Brent Fowler, Co. B, 1/508th. "These guys are sacrificing so much for this country, and it is the least we could do for them to show our appreciation for what they do each and everyday for us."
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2007 09:04 |
| Story ID: | 10717 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 581 |
| Downloads: | 498 |
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