The field was empty except for a single sign with the motto “We Make American Soldiers” mounted at the back in front of a tree line. There were almost 3,000 people sitting in the bleachers overlooking the field. Patriotic music was playing in the background, and an overall feeling of anticipation was in the air.
Suddenly, green and yellow smoke wafted up from the field, obscuring the sign and the tree line. Seconds later, 1,059 new U.S. soldiers were standing in perfect rows in four platoons of the 1-13th Infantry Brigade. The emotional outpouring from the 3,000 family members was deafening. It was a moment that brought a tear to my eye and one I will never forget.
Thirty-nine years earlier, I was the soldier standing in formation on a field, and now I was the father standing in the bleachers bursting with pride as I watched my oldest son finishing one of the most significant experiences of his life.
The location was Ft. Jackson (named after President Andrew Jackson) in South Carolina. The date was February 20th. Jacob (now Private Second Class Janke) shared this event with 1,058 other recruits who had just endured 10 weeks of arduous training to become the United States’ newest soldiers. Of the 1,059 total graduates, 2 had PhDs, more than 40 had Master’s Degrees, and more than 200 had Bachelor’s Degrees. One was 48 years old and the youngest was 17.
The diversity of the new soldiers was astounding. There were soldiers from more than 20 countries, from Yemen, Mexico, Venezuela, Nigeria, and Rwanda to Myanmar, Iraq, and Jordan. Approximately 100 had become naturalized citizens earlier that day. Jacob had become close with several of them in his company, and I had the honor of congratulating them and shaking their hands.
I had a chance to ask them why they made the journey to the United States and why they wanted to become U.S. citizens. One of the new privates, from Myanmar, told me that 20 friends from his high school had been killed in the civil war that is ravaging his country. He wanted to escape that fate.
Another soldier I spoke to was born in Rwanda. The genocide between the Hutus and Tutsis is still a fresh memory. He told me he realized that his future in Rwanda was bleak and that he wanted to come to the United States to have a future and a career. He truly appreciated the freedom that the United States offers. He wants to start a family and raise them in an environment of freedom where they do not have to fear for their lives and can express themselves openly. This was a general theme for all the new citizens I spoke with.
Since February 20th I have reflected on what I experienced. Of course there is the immense pride I feel for my son. He has started on a road that will be both rewarding and frustrating but, in the end, he will become a good soldier and a great citizen. I have also reflected on his friends who left their homelands to seek a better future. These people understand what it is to live in a free country: a country where opportunity beckons and the limit on your success depends on your ambition and talent versus the status of your birth or the tribe you’re born into. I told them that I am glad to see them here and that they are an inspiration. They may not have understood the last compliment but in time they will.
We have too many people in this country who take their freedom and success for granted. They do not understand what true struggles are. These new citizens do, and they made the difficult decision to leave everything they knew for a chance at a bright future. God bless them and God bless the United States of America.
