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Cpl. Jose Gancayco, standing tall in his U.S. Marine uniform, was sworn in yesterday as a U.S. citizen with 191 other new Americans on the deck of the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor. New Americans
‘honored,’ ‘happy’
to be citizensThis year's Citizenship Day
ceremony is held aboard
the USS MissouriBy Leila Fujimori
Star-Bulletin"I've wanted to do that since I got to this country," said the 23-year-old, who emigrated to New York from the Philippines with his family at the age of 13.
He is proud to serve as a Marine and now to be a citizen of this country and all the ideals for which it stands, he said.
The annual Citizenship Day ceremony was held on the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, with U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra presiding.
At the suggestion of the Masons, who promote the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Naturalization Service selected the historic battleship for the ceremony.
Alexander David, who also became a citizen yesterday, arrived in America from Germany alone at age 18. For him it was the land of opportunity.
In 1982 the German economy was down, it was difficult to get into college, and no apprenticeships were available, David said. So he moved to California.
There, he earned bachelor's and master's degrees and became a financial planner. But David had trouble convincing the U.S. government to let him become a citizen since he did not come from an underprivileged nation.
But under a former immigration program, David was picked by number.
"It was a matter of luck," he said. The 37-year-old and his wife of one year were naturalized together.
For Raul and Alberto Terrado, the event was a father-son affair.
Alberto's parents petitioned for his family to come from the Philippines in the 1980s but did not live to see them become citizens.
"We are happy becoming a part of this country," he said.
Raul, 25, said becoming an American citizen means "a lot of freedoms. You have a chance to go to different countries. I believe there are greater opportunities here. It's easier to get jobs."
After 26 years in Hawaii, Terumi Oana finally became a citizen. "I was afraid about the testing," Oana admitted. She tried 15 years ago but never went through with it.
Two years ago, Oana took citizenship classes. She boned up on American history and read books in English and Japanese, and got help from her husband. She passed the citizenship test.
"The next step is getting her drivers license," said her husband, Shane Oana. "That's going to be worse."
Procrastination stopped Ituau "Stu" Leilua-Mauga, who turned 52 today, from being an American citizen sooner. She came to Hawaii in 1967 from Western Samoa. "I feel honored and very happy to be part of this great nation," she said.
Her sister, three children, six grandchildren and other family members surrounded her after she received her naturalization certificate. A celebration awaited her at home, with salmon, beef stew and green bananas with coconut milk.