NPR

Remembering A Soldier Who Died For His Country Before Becoming A Citizen

George Rincon and Yolanda Reyes remember their son, Diego, an Iraqi war veteran who was killed in action in 2003. The family came to the U.S. in 1989 as immigrants from Colombia.
George Rincon and Yolanda Reyes stand with a portrait of their son Diego Rincon. The family immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia in 1989. Diego served in the Army and was killed in Iraq in 2003.

Memorial Day weekend is a time when a lot of Americans remember those who have served and lost their lives during war — and not all of those individuals were U.S. citizens.

When the Iraq war started, nearly 40,000 members of the military were not U.S. citizens. Army Pfc. Diego Rincon was one of

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