Veterans Day from the

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Veterans <$NoAd$>Day (from the AP)…

Marine Cpl. David Antonio Garcia stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier Thursday and was sworn in as an American citizen – after already serving under the U.S. flag in Iraq.

The native of Mexico was among 80 sailors and Marines from 25 countries – from Canada to Syria – who became citizens in a Veterans Day ceremony aboard the USS Midway, a reward for putting their lives on the line for their adopted country.

The ceremony, watched by more than 100 cheering relatives, came as the nation observed Veterans Day with about 160,000 troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan – some of them locked in fierce house-to-house fighting in Fallujah.

“I wouldn’t want to compare myself to World War veterans or Vietnam veterans,” said Garcia, 21, who was with combat engineers who cleared the path for tanks to roll into Iraq. “But I feel some of what they must feel today. I know what it’s like to leave loved ones and not to know if you will come back.”

Marine Corps League

Association of the US Army

Navy Mutual Aid Association

Air Force Association

United Service Organizations

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