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The land of the brave - Military Monday 4

The land of the brave doesn't just open its borders to the tired, the poor the hungry, it also opens its borders to the ... brave. There is something especially poignant about someone who immigrates and then joins the armed forces of his/her new country.

Last week there was a citizenship ceremony in Virginia. More precisely it was aboard the U.S.S. George Washington where 150 service men and women took the oath of citizenship.

I did not know this

Even as Congress considers immigration legislation, the military has made it easier for legal immigrants in the armed services to become citizens. The number of service members becoming citizens increased tenfold in a four- year period, from 749 in 2001 to 7,600 in 2004.

It's by design. In July 2002 , President Bush signed the Expedited Naturalization Executive Order, easing the way for more foreign-born nationals on active duty to become U.S. citizens . Those serving on or after Sept. 11, 2001, are eligible for immediate citizenship; before the order, they were required to wait one year.

Immigration services has naturalized more than 20,000 service members since the order took effect. A total of 35,000 have filed.

(Despite this executive order there are sometimes glitches as in the case of Kendell Frederick.)

For these newly naturalized soldiers, their life as American citizens is beginning. Unfortunately, for Sgt. Rafael Peralta, his life as an American did not last long. He joined the Marines the day after getting his citizenship and served in Iraq. Here's Rich Lowry on this hero:

According to Kaemmerer, the Marines entered a house and kicked in the doors of two rooms that proved empty. But there was another closed door to an adjoining room. It was unlocked, and Peralta, in the lead, opened it. He was immediately hit with AK-47 fire in his face and upper torso by three insurgents. He fell out of the way into one of the cleared rooms to give his fellow Marines a clear shot at the enemy. During the firefight, a yellow fragmentation grenade flew out of the room, landing near Peralta and several fellow Marines. The uninjured Marines tried to scatter out of the way, two of them trying to escape the room, but were blocked by a locked door. At that point, barely alive, Peralta grabbed the grenade and cradled it to his body.

His body took most of the blast. One Marine was seriously injured, but the rest sustained only minor shrapnel wounds. Cpl. Brannon Dyer told a reporter from the Army Times, "He saved half my fire team."

Here is an online memorial to Sgt. Peralta. The Danz Family has a memorial with pictures of the hero.

I can't get over people who sacrifice themselves to save others. The idea that someone decides: "if I die many others will live but if I do nothing many more will die" requires a fortitude I cannot fathom. How would I act in such a circumstance - may I never be placed in that position? I can't know.

(Sgt. Peralta's selfless sacrifice reminds me of Haim Smadar's. Again this was someone who saw his job as protecting others who would likely die if he did not act.)

I was just helping one of my children prepare for a test on Julius Caesar, there's a quote from Caesar that seems a fitting tribute to the likes of Rafael Peralta or Haim Smadar:

"Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once."

Last week I blogged about the recovery of injured veterans. Blogger Maspik Teruzim commented on the remarkable story of Spc. Peter Sprenger. Please read this remarkable story of a man who refused to take the easy way out. Thanks for the contribution.

If you have positive military stories of Americans or our allies in the war on terror please leave a comment or e-mail me at dhgerstman at hotmail dot com and I'll be happy to include it in a future edition of Military Monday.