USAG Bavaria welcomes newest American citizens | Article

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As part of a special program to naturalize active-duty service members and their Families, 27 new citizens hailing from 14 different countries were welcomed as citizens of the United States during a naturalization ceremony Oct. 31, 2024 at the Tower View Conference Center. (Photo Credit: Paula Edwards) VIEW ORIGINAL

TOWER BARRACKS, Germany — As part of a special program to naturalize active-duty service members and their Families, 27 new citizens hailing from 14 different countries were welcomed as citizens of the United States during a naturalization ceremony Oct. 31, 2024 at the Tower View Conference Center.

Following the national anthem performed by Karissa Musket, the “Oath of Allegiance” was virtually conducted by Maria Trevizo-Ramirez, a representative with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The citizens naturalized at the ceremony originally came from El Salvador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, South Korea, Philippines, Germany, Ecuador, Mexico, Russia, Vietnam, Cote D’Ivoire and Uzbekistan.

The ceremony concluded with deputy to the garrison commander Dwayne Key distributing certificates of naturalization to America’s newest citizens.

“Today, the history of our great nation, the very identity of the United States changes for the better as we add the names, the families, the stories of 27 new Americans to the long and distinguished list of those who have completed the journey to American Citizenship,” said Key.

The newly naturalized citizens consisted of 13 service members and 14 civilians.

“The fact that many of you made the choice to do this on top of being a part of the Armed Forces, whether you are a servicemember or a family member, and not your own places of national origin makes today even more special,” Key said. “I am so grateful, so honored to be here and witness this moment in your lives.”

Jose Andres Donis Arana with the 15th Engineer Battalion has been waiting for this day since he joined the Army.

“I feel really proud to be called an American citizen now,” Arana said. “And I'm so impressed of how many good things that happened to me in a very short period.”

“This is something I was really looking to,” continued Arana. “I feel so happy, so thankful for this nation, for all the opportunities that it has given me. I think that being part of the army is one of the ways to say thank you for all the benefits, opportunities and help that has given to me in all these years.”

He has the following advice for people who are considering the naturalization process:

“Joining the Army is a really good opportunity, not only because of the benefits, also because it will make you grow as a person,” said Arana. “They find you a better way … will make you, like, explore your limits. And definitely the citizenship is one of the benefits.”

The ceremony concluded with the youngest participant, Quang Huy Vo from Vietnam, cutting the cake with Key.

To view the live stream of the event, visit https://www.facebook.com/USAGBavaria/videos/1193775075032818

View additional photos of the event at the link here.

Here’s a list of all the newly naturalized U.S. citizens:

Franklin Andres Canas Coreas – El Salvador Dana Nicole Clay - Germany Ysabel Estefani Diaz Mejia – Germany Jose Andres Donis Arana - Guatemala Yoel Antonio Estevez – Dominican Republic Kervens Fanfan - Haiti Andrea Gabriela Flores Villar - Mexico Elisabeth Catherine Godfrey - Germany Juan Aandres Gomez Saladana - Colombia Chrisian Wilfrido Lazo-Lopez - Ecuador Dahye Lee – South Korea Criselle Joy Cruz Luvedise - Phillipines Christiane Antonia Meaney - Germany Karla Jeackelin Mendoza - Ecuador Clarissa Josefine Moreno - Germany Nadja Peery - Germany Aaron Perez Gonzales - Mexico Hector Portillo – El Salvador Elena Viktorovna Priori – Germany Melinda Loeffler Pulido – Germany Ferlyn Mari Rivera-Martinez - Philippines Jose Luis Rodriguez - Mexico Semen Sevastianov - Russia Esther Townsend - Germany Quang Huy Vo - Vietnam David Herbert Yangra – Cote D’Ivoire Vladislav Yanpolskiy - Uzbekistan

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