Citizenship has long been a topic of debate in the United States. Though we are a country built by immigrants, we are at a crucial juncture in which reform of our immigration system is looming. That being said, our system still brings in citizens and among them, heroes.
Johnny Walker, yes, it is a codename, became a U.S. Citizen here in San Diego. Walker served our United States Navy Seals in Iraq as both an interpreter and an informant, helping to deliver high value targets. After 12 years, he finally got a piece of the freedom he fought for.
Many of the Seals he worked with were at the ceremony to support him, and were nearly brought to tears. For the Seals he worked with, it was an amazing moment to see him live his dream.
Working with the United States in Iraq during the war was an incredibly dangerous endeavor, as a military city, we all know the loss that war brings. For Walker this means still having a bounty on his head in the country he was born in.
Sacrifices like his are what make this country and the ideals it stands for. A UN report from 2015 showed the United States as taking the most immigrants per year, beating out the number two, Germany, by thirty-four million.
Johnny Walker made sacrifices for the United States, and for that, we thank him. America does not forget those who serve. Walker earned every bit of the America he now belongs to.
Photo by Elias Castillo
