Special Veterans Day ceremony welcomes new U.S. citizens

Sgt. 1st Class Manu Tufuga earned his U.S. citizenship long ago.

He earned it over nearly 25 years of service in the U.S. Army.

He earned it on numerous deployments, including a stint in Afghanistan, which ended just seven months ago, and a stint in Iraq, where "we had a few people not make it back."

Tufuga earned his citizenship long ago but finally became an American on Friday during a special Veterans Day naturalization ceremony on the flight line at Nellis Air Force Base. A row of the Thunderbirds' famous F-16s served as a backdrop.

Tufuga, a Samoa native who immigrated to the United States shortly before enlisting, said he finally became a citizen after deciding he had "served long enough" to deserve it. He got choked up during the ceremony.

"There are no words to match this moment," the 48-year-old said.

Other newly minted Americans included four airmen, three National Guard members, one airman's spouse and U.S. Navy veteran Dwight Bryan, who now works as a heating, ventilation and air conditioning technician at the Nevada State Veterans Home in Boulder City.

Bryan, a 40-year-old Jamaica native, came to the United States with his family at 6 years old, joined the Navy at 18 and "went straight to the Gulf War." He long felt like an American but decided to finally make it official so that he could pursue his next goal: becoming a police officer. He also wanted to set a good example for his two children.

"This is what it's all about, right here," Bryan said while waving a miniature U.S. flag during the ceremony. "This country has been really good to me."

Current and recently discharged members of the U.S. armed forces can take advantage of an expedited naturalization process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has naturalized nearly 75,000 members of the military since September 2001.

Those who want to become U.S. citizens must first be permanent residents. After applying for citizenship, they must be interviewed, take a U.S. government and history test, and prove they can read and write English.

Those being naturalized at Nellis Friday represented 10 countries including Argentina, Chile, Ghana, Mexico and Russia.

Senior U.S. District Judge Lloyd George administered the oath of citizenship.

"Most of the citizens of the United States have inherited that privilege," George told the new citizens. "Others, like yourselves, have earned it themselves."

Lee Holston, Las Vegas field office director for USCIS, called the new citizenship of military members "especially remarkable because you chose, yourselves, to defend a country that was not yours."

For Tufuga, who works as a battalion motor sergeant stationed at Fort Irwin, Calif., citizenship means fully belonging to the United States.

"I felt I belonged 90 percent before," he said. "This fulfills the 100 percent."

He plans to retire from the Army next year. His wife, Eti, looks forward to it, especially because Tufuga will spend more time with their three children at the family's North Las Vegas home.

Eti, also a Samoa native, met Tufuga in 1992 at the Los Angeles International Airport, where the two were each saying goodbye to separate people. She has spent much of her married life saying goodbye to her husband.

He has earned his U.S. citizenship, Eti said.

"All this time he's been away from me and the kids," she said. "I am so happy. God knows how much."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@review
journal.com or 702-383-0285.