A man who had bought a medical excuse to avoid serving our country, a man who called John McCain a loser for being caught by the Vietnamese. Trump called Americans who gave their lives for this country suckers and losers; he certainly would not care if an illegal got deported, regardless of the circumstances.
Were you wounded fighting for our country? Tough shit, ICE does not care.
After nearly two decades and nearly a trillion dollars invested to reduce veteran suicide, thousands of military veterans are once again living in fear. This time, it isn’t from the crushing weight of post-traumatic stress or the vivid nightmares of combat. It’s from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agency doesn’t care whether you served or sacrificed. Its ultimate agenda is to sow fear and terror in immigrant communities – communities that thousands of U.S. military veterans call home.
The Associated Press reported this week on the story of Julio Torres, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq. Torres has the American flag and Marine Corps emblem tattooed on his arms, and has struggled with post-traumatic stress and addiction. He was detained by ICE at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport when he returned from visiting relatives in Mexico. He was released after five days, but the message was clear: His service did not shield him from deportation. Today, he limits his movements in East Texas, afraid to venture far from home, afraid that his children will watch him disappear into detention again.
There’s also Jose Barco, an Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient. NPR reported earlier this year that after surviving an IED blast in Iraq, he spent years fighting the invisible wounds of a traumatic brain injury and PTSD. His citizenship application was lost in the shuffle of war. When he committed a crime in the fog of untreated trauma, he paid with 15 years of his life behind bars. But when he walked free, ICE was waiting. Venezuela refused to accept him, leaving him stateless. Barco is still awaiting his fate.
Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) are meanwhile pressing the Department of Homeland Security for answers about why Sae Joon Park, a 61-year-old U.S. Army veteran wounded during the 1989 invasion of Panama, was forced to self-deport on June 23, after ICE officials in Honolulu informed him he would be detained unless he left voluntarily. Park, who had lived in the U.S. since he was seven, was separated from his two U.S.-citizen children and a mother reportedly suffering from early-stage dementia. His deportation highlights the vulnerabilities of long-term residents and veterans facing immigration complications, despite their service to the country.
Below is a photo of my father and uncle, my father’s brother, who were together fighting the Japanese for four years. For those who may be racist, they were both born here, as was their mother and grandmother, which takes us to the mid-1860s.
Division 27, WWII
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the division was one of the first stateside divisions to be assigned defensive duties. The 27th Division departed Fort McClellan on 14 December 1941 for California to establish blocking positions against a seaborne invasion of the United States southwestern coast. It was then sent to Hawaii, arriving on 21 May 1942, to defend the outer islands from amphibious attack. In September 1942, the division was reorganized from a “square” to a “triangular” division. The 27th was the last of the National Guard divisions to make this change, as it had been earmarked for overseas shipment and had departed for Hawaii in the midst of the other divisions being converted in the spring of 1942, and Army officials in Hawaii had prepared facilities to receive the units of a larger “square” division. The 165th Infantry (the once and future 69th Infantry) and 3rd Battalion, 105th Infantry first saw action against the enemy during the attack and capture of Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, 21–24 November 1943. The 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 106th Regiment participated in the attack on Eniwetok Atoll, 19–26 February 1944, returning to Oahu in March. During this mission, the 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry landed unopposed on Majuro Island, 1 February, and completed its seizure, 3 February. The division began preparations for the Marianas operations, 15 March. On D-day plus 1, 16 June 1944, elements landed at night on Saipan to support the Second and Fourth Marine Divisions.[13] A beachhead was established and Aslito Airfield captured, 18 June. Fighting continued throughout June. Marine General Holland Smith, unsatisfied with the performance of the 27th Division, relieved its commander, Army General Ralph C. Smith., which led to angry recrimination from senior Army commanders, including Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall. During a pitched battle, 7 July, Japanese overran elements of the division in a banzai attack, but organized resistance was crushed the next day. During the months of July and August, the 27th cleaned out isolated pockets in the mountains and cliffs of Saipan.
Beginning in the middle of August, the division moved to the New Hebrides for rest and rehabilitation. On 25 March 1945, the 27th sailed from Espiritu Santo, arriving at Okinawa, 9 April 1945. The Division participated in the XXIV Corps general attack, 19 April 1945, securing a dominating ridge line south of Machinato and Kakazu. Machinato Airfield was captured, 28 April, after a severe struggle. On 1 May, the division was relieved by the 1st Marine Division and attached to the Island Command for garrison duty. Tori Shima was seized, 12 May, without opposition. The 27th attacked from the south end of Ishikawa Isthmus to sweep the northern sector of Okinawa. The enemy fought bitterly on Onnatake Hill from 23 May until 2 June, before losing the strong point. After a mopping-up period, the division left Okinawa, 7 September 1945, moved to Japan and occupied Niigata and Fukushima Prefectures.