Soldier who died for country becomes official citizen

A Filipino Fort Carson soldier who died in a Feb. 21 bomb blast in Afghanistan was among the foreign-born soldiers recognized Thursday as U.S. citizens in a ceremony on post.

The swearing-in featured a tribute to Pfc. JR Salvacion, a soft-spoken assistant gunner who told comrades that he joined the Army in part to obtain citizenship for himself and his wife.

“It was a pretty big deal for him,” said Spc. Taylor Custer, a friend in the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, which returned from its yearlong tour in June.

Twenty-two people took their citizenship oath during Thursday’s ceremony, representing 16 countries, including Tunisia, South Africa, Germany, Peru, Colombia and Micronesia.
Most were fresh from a year in Afghanistan.

The returning veterans included 37-year-old Sgt. Jesus Sanchez, a native of Chihuahua, Mexico who grew up in Arizona and worked in construction before joining the Army in 2006.

In Afghanistan, Sanchez was a medic who tended to the wounded at Korengal Outpost, an isolated mountain compound the Army abandoned in April amid relentless firefights and deadly ambushes.

On Thursday, Sanchez celebrated with his wife, Rebecca, and three children, including 3-year-old Sophia, who smiled and waved an American flag from a perch in her father’s arms.

“I considered myself a citizen already, doing what I do,” said Sanchez, standing in line for cake after the ceremony. “It means a lot to be able to say it, but I don’t feel different.”

Sgt. Diego Amaya, originally of Medellin, Colombia, said simply: “It’s been a dream.”

The Army has long been open to permanent immigrants who hold green cards. An average of 20 to 30 foreign-born soldiers are naturalized every month at ceremonies at Fort Carson, said Kate McNeely, the post’s immigration coordinator. Illegal immigrants are not eligible to serve in the Army.

This month’s ceremony marked the first time a soldier was posthumously recognized on post, according to Shelley Randall, of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Denver, which presides over the monthly ceremonies.

Salvacion, 27, spoke heavily accented English and initially kept to himself, Custer said. But he quickly earned a solid reputation as a hard worker, Custer said, and eventually began joking with his comrades, laughing off their impressions of his accent and impressing them with his good humor and dedication.

“He wanted to serve his country,” he said. “He wanted to be one of the guys who was out fighting for it.”

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