Sgt Jose Gomez - Resident Alien - Hero

While on the treadmill today, listening to CNN, they had a report about Jose Gomez.

Jose was killed in Iraq by an IED on April 28th.

(image from http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/page3.html)

The report was interesting in that he apparently didn't tell his mother or step-father he was going to Iraq for the second time, in order to spare his mother the worry about him.

CNN interviewed his mother and step-father. His mother is *NOT* an english speaker. She came to America with her son after his father died. They are resident aliens.

Unfortunately, the CNN anchorette attempted to inject a political issue by referring to them as illegal immigrants. She was corrected by the reporter (albeit gently). The reporter went on to report that it is common in these kinds of cases that the government will offer to make the deceased soldier an American Citizen posthumously.

I'd love to see a letter-writing campaign to the mother, thanking her for her son's service to this country.