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NOTE:  I first posted this story for Thanksgiving, 2013. Circa 2017, Progressives crudely argue anyone opposing unrestricted immigration is somehow un-American, inhumane, and, of course, racist. They labor to defy the law and to establish “sanctuary cities.” Illegal immigrants are somehow noble and virtuous, but none so virtuous as the leftists that believe the destruction of the rule of law is a high virtue, just below the criminal and un-American resistance to our legitimately elected President. In these backward times, this true story is a breath of fresh, American air.

Now and then I come across a heart-warming story that brings a tear to the eye.  Some stories remind me that Americans have much–even during these strange days–about which to be thankful.  It is heartening to find a story that reflects what is best about America.  The story of Aseel Salman, the first Iraq-born woman to become a US Marine, is such a story, and Marine Cpl. MaryAnn Hill, via Fox News has it:

Gentle readers, meet Aseel Salman, at the age of 30, your newest United States Marine.

Salman first encountered the United States military during college at the University of Baghdad in 2003. After an American soldier was shot, the other soldiers needed an interpreter to help with the investigation. Salman stepped up, admitting she could speak both English and Arabic, and began working as an interpreter for the U.S. Army while still attending school.

Salman worked with the Army for six years, saving Iraqi and American lives.  Because of increased violence against interpreters, Salman was able to secure a visa to America:

I flew into the U.S. on Dec. 22, 2008,’ said Salman of her layover in New York. ‘I remember it was so beautiful with all the snow. I was talking to these two other women, and I was so worried they would know I was Iraqi. They had no idea that I had never been in the United States before that night.’

Salman settled down in Houston with her husband, a U.S. military contractor who she met in Iraq. The real struggle began when he left for another tour overseas.

‘I didn’t even know how to pump gas when he left. I remember stopping at a gas station and crying until a nice man helped me pump my gas. I also remember the first time I stepped in Wal-Mart … it was so amazing.

Think of that, gentle readers: WalMart–amazing?  We take so much for granted, on Thanksgiving and every day.

The American press would have us believe Americans are hated around the world, just as they hate America. Salman always believed otherwise:

 During her time as a military interpreter she went on numerous raids with American troops.

‘The first two years were the hardest,’ said Salman. ‘Going straight from school to the checkpoint every day, and sometimes staying overnight was hard.’

Salman said there were too many stories to count, but there was one that stands out to her to this day.

‘We went out on a raid once, and I went into a house with three women in it,’ said Salman. ‘I asked if they knew where this man was, and they all said no. Then, one woman whispered to me that she knew where he was and to meet her outside. Once outside, she warned us, saying ‘be careful, they are across the street with five loaded AK-47s.’ We later caught them.’

Salman grew up in all-female family, but with no males present, her mother and three sisters felt ostracized by their community, she said.

‘I hated being looked down upon just because we didn’t have a male family member around,’ said Salman, who graduated boot camp on Nov. 15, 2013. ‘I joined the Marines to prove to myself and my family and my people that I can do something great and amazing.

credit: marinecorprecruiting command

Circa 2015, Salman was working in the Corps:

Marine Corps records show that as of today, Salman is a Marine corporal stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, where she works on CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters.

Aseel Salman did it the right way, the American way. She earned her place among Americans, among all the foreign-born that came to America legally and assimilated, because she recognized that despite Barack Obama apology tours, Clintonian lies, and the constant abuse of Americans by the self-imagined elite of the political and press classes, America truly is the shining city on the hill, the last, best hope of mankind. She understood the inestimable value of American citizenship and she did whatever was necessary to earn that honor.  She is the kind of immigrant America needs.  Why should we accept anything–anyone–other than people that honor and love our country and its people? Why should we waste a moment’s thought or respect on those that scorn the very idea embodied by “America First”?

This Thanksgiving, and every Thanksgiving, we have much for which to be thankful. In your prayers this day, include Aseel Salman and every legal immigrant like her. And pray too that we may always be the land of the free and the home of the brave, that we may be Americans worth fighting for, despite the worst efforts of some among us.

Semper Fidelis, and blessed Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans.