The Rock of the Marne

Posted on by

A moment of silence:

The Department of Defense announced today [Sat] the death of a soldier, who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Hatim S. Kathiria, 23, of Fort Worth, Texas, died on Aug. 22, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq, where an enemy rocket impacted near his position. Kathiria was assigned to the 703rd Forward Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. [Link]

MSNBC has more:

A soldier who called Fort Worth home died in Iraq this week. Hatim Kathiria joined the U.S. Army just months after emigrating to the United States from India.

The 23-year-old had studied to be a software engineer, but work in that field was hard to come by. So, he joined the Army to earn citizenship more quickly and to make money to send to his family.

Kathiria was sent to Iraq in January, the same month he got married and received his U.S. citizenship. He was full of promise, and hoped to advance in the military while saving money for graduate school and preparing to help bring his family to the U.S

…Shortly before he died, Kathiria told his wife that he wanted his body sent back to India to be buried in his hometown. That will happen after a military service in Washington, D.C.

Here are this month’s fallen.

34 thoughts on “The Rock of the Marne”

  1. Wow. I just hope Iraq doesn’t become a second Bosnia/Serbia. God knows we don’t want soldiers still stationed there decades after the Bush administration.

  2. Initially I was going to say that highlighting a casualty simply because he’s brown makes me a bit uncomfortable with the coalition casualties well over 2000. But then I read the story. I didn’t even know you could do that – join the army to get citizenship. It says he was the family’s only son. Poor guy, and moreover, poor wife.

  3. Let’s please not turn this into a political thread or I will just shut down comments. His close ties with India, the fact that he wasn’t a U.S. citizen, and the fact that he joined the Army because he couldn’t find a job in the software industry are just some of the topics that bare consideration without the usual pro-war/anti-war stuff thrown in. Thanks.

  4. Though its a very sad story, thank you Abhi for posting it.

    A school friend of my son was among the first casualties in Iraq. His tank overturned into the Tigris river. The vehicle capsized and the entire crew drowned. My son was in shock for many days afterward.

    The military does recruit heavily from the resident alien population, esp. Mexicans.

    My daughter is a Coast Guard reservist. She passionately loves NY, was furious about the attacks and wanted to join the marines to fight overseas. I was able to convince her that the Coast Guard was an essential service.

  5. If his family or friends read this thread today or sometimes in future, my heartfelt condolences to them.

    I think there was another Indian who died with similar visa/ nationality status in Iraq a while ago. They have been quite a few from South America – quite often hurting for financial security.

  6. Kush, that is a very good way to put it. My condolences and sympathies are with the family.

    (Christopher John, I’m very sorry to hear of your son’s friend. I too have a friend whose brother was a soldier in Iraq and whose brother died in a jeep accident, I believe. And the Coast Guard is an essential service; good luck to your daughter).

  7. If he just arrived in the United States a few months back, I am presuming he came on some sort of a visa and did not have a green card. Its shocking that people can now join the U.S. army without even being permanent residents of the United States. A very sad story indeed.

  8. Rest in Peace, Sir.

    I had a childhood friend from Bharat Natyam who was Russian (yeah, Bharat Natyam rocks that way) who joined the navy after high school to speed up her citizenship process, toured the gulf (bought herself a second Bharat Natyam costume and a supersweet matching costume jewellery set in Dubai, actually), got a little bit of weak fire from Iraq (this was back in the day when it seemed like the worst possible thing we could do to Iraq was sanction it), and came home to find she had screwed herself—-she had missed a citizenship hearing by being in the gulf, and they didnt’ seem to take serving in the American military as a good excuse. I think it all got ironed out in the end, or she got married and that trumped it, but it still sucked at the time.

  9. Ok, I just checked. You have to be either a permanent resident or a citizen to join the US Army. So Hatim had a Green Card and maybe he joined the US Army as a way to expedite his citizenship application. I guess expediting his citizenship application was really important to him. As a green card holder, he of course could work in any private and most state jobs. I am sure there is more to this story.

  10. Some insight from the Desi tabloid TOI:

    The death of Army Specialist Hakim Kathiria and Sergeant Uday Singh, has a remarkable sub-text. One was a Muslim and the other a Sikh, and together with Lt. Neil Prakash, who recently returned from Iraq after winning a Silver Star for courage under fire, they represent the very best of IndiaÂ’s secular traditions at a time when some countries specialize in exporting fundamentalist jihadis.

    Sikhs and Muslims have also been singled out for attention in the U.S homeland security context.

    According to the year 2000 U.S Census, there were some 450 India-born people of Indian-origin serving in the U.S armed forces. Latest figures are not available but anecdotal accounts suggest that number may have increased significantly as many recent immigrants are signing up at the prospect of a quick citizenship even as native-born Americans are balking at enlisting.

  11. Some links and excerpts about non-citizens in the US Armed Forces. Note that the figures aren’t quite congruent:

    According to the U.S. Department of Defense: * More than 60,000 immigrants serve on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. * Immigrants make up nearly 5 percent of all enlisted personnel on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. * Nearly 7 percent of U.S. Navy enlisted personnel are immigrants. On July 3, 2002, President Bush recognized the contributions of immigrants in the U.S. Armed Forces by signing an executive order that provided for “expedited naturalization” of non-citizen men and women serving on active-duty status since September 11, 2001. The order granted some 15,000 members of the U.S. military who served fewer than three years the right to apply for expedited citizenship in recognition of their service Historically, immigrants have made significant contributions to defense of America: * More than 20 percent of the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor in U.S. wars have been immigrants, a total of 716 of the 3,406 Medal of Honor recipients have been immigrants. * 500,000 immigrants fought in the Union Army during the Civil War. * A special regimental combat team made up of the sons of Japanese immigrants was the most decorated of its size during World War II. * Major U.S. weapons, such as a more advanced ironclad ship, the submarine, the helicopter, and the atomic and hydrogen bombs were developed by immigrants. * After the passage of Section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 143,000 non-citizen military participants in World Wars I and II, and 31,000 members of the U.S. military who fought during the Korean War, became naturalized American citizens, according to White House statistics. [cite]
    A flood of inquiries from Mexicans and other foreigners prompted the military to state that it will only accept U.S. legal residents and citizens at this time. Beyond the societal benefits of citizenship, non-citizens in the military cannot become officers, and must leave the military after eight years of service. [cite]
    About 35,000 non-citizens are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, while another 12,000 serve in the Reserve Components. The navy has the largest proportion of non-citizens on active duty, almost 16,000, nearly half the total. The Marine Corps has about 6,500, the Army about 5,000, and the Air force about 3,000. The differences are the result of variations in the service regulations governing the re-enlistment of non-citizens. The Navy and Marine Corps place no restrictions, while the Army allows them to stay in for only 8 years of service, and the Air Force limits them to no more than 6. This is to encourage the non-citizen troops to become naturalized citizens. But naval tradition, the world over, has long tolerated non-citizens serving on ships for their entire careers. All services encourage non-citizens to apply for citizenship at the earliest opportunity, and many do. Some aliens in the service have been granted U.S. citizenship posthumously. Non-citizens appear to make better soldiers and sailors. This can best be seen by their lower attrition rates. During their first three months of service, the attrition rate for citizens was nearly 11-percent, while that for non-citizens was just under 6-percent. At the 36 month mark, the attrition rate for citizens was approximately 32-percent, as against slightly under 19-percent for non-citizens. [cite]

  12. Ah – I get why the figures are different, they’re talking about different things. There are 60,000 immigrants in the US Armed Forces, 35,000 or so of whom are currently non-citizens. The first figure is about foreign born people serving the the Armed Forces, the second is about foreign born people who are not naturalized.

    Sorry, I’m slow right now, that should have been obvious to me.

  13. Related, of interest:

    A group for mothers whose children died in war voted Monday to allow non-U.S. citizens to join, after coming under criticism for denying membership to a Filipina mother whose son was killed in Afghanistan. The 1929 charter of American Gold Star Mothers had prevented foreign citizens from joining. Earlier this year, the organization’s 12-member executive board voted against changing the rule. That prevented Ligaya Lagman, of Yonkers, N.Y., from joining, although she is a legal resident and her son, 27-year-old son Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was a U.S. citizen. After hearing about her interest in joining, New York Gov. George Pataki and other lawmakers urged the group to change its rules. [cite]

  14. From the ToI story:

    … Hatim had gotten married just weeks before he left for Iraq… he had not told his uncle or his parents. His wife, Esther Perez, also serves with the U.S forces in Iraq…

    More details:

    Spc. Kathiria was an automated logistical specialist, a job that entails running a computer system to keep track of supplies and parts, Smith said… Nuruddin Kathiria said his nephew had been in Iraq since January and had written to him in e-mails that it was hot and that he was working long hours… Hatim S. Kathiria came to Fort Worth from India in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in software engineering… After arriving in Fort Worth, Kathiria worked as a gas station clerk for a few months before enlisting in the Army on Nov. 12, 2003.

    And:

    Spc. Kathiria is survived by his father, Siraj Kathiria; mother, Shirin Kathiria; and two sisters, Kahdija Kathiria and Habiba Kathiria, all of Dahod, India. Spc. Kathiria was born July 1, 1982, in Dahod in the Indian state of Gujarat.

    Also R.I.P. Sgt. Uday Singh.

  15. The 23-year-old had studied to be a software engineer, but work in that field was hard to come by. So, he joined the Army to earn citizenship more quickly and to make money to send to his family.

    A sad end for a person who was trying to find a better life. The Heinlein inspired military recruitment bait of “service guarantees citizenship” will rapidly lose its allure as more the U.S economy loses more jobs every year and becomes less appealing a place for immigrants considering military service to obtain citizenship.

  16. Hatim had gotten married just weeks before he left for Iraq… he had not told his uncle or his parents. His wife, Esther Perez, also serves with the U.S forces in Iraq

    As he was married to a US Citizen (I am presuming that Perez was a citizen) he could have become a citizen after 3 years of marriage. I wish he had waited for 3 years. If you are married to a US Citizen you can become eligible for citizenship after 3 years of being married to a US Citizen.

    I suspect that he might not be aware of immigration laws. For example he was probably not aware that he could get federal money as a permanent resident (which he was) and he did not have to become a citizen to get federal money to go to graduate school.

    When I hear these stories, I feel bad about not doing any pro bono work educating recent immigrants about immigration laws.

    All desi lawyers have some responsibility to the immigrant desi diaspora in the US.

  17. My guess is that he might not have been holding a Bachelors Degree in software engineering, rather he might have done one of those private courses for a particular application and in a indifferent market he saw as working for US military as a quick way of getting citizenship. I am also sure that you will be able to find many similar cases in the Indian community. Sad but some have very limited set of choices to choose from.

  19. A sad end for a person who was trying to find a better life

    I suppose that is precisely why this law exists – people from 3rd world are willing to do anything to get american citizenship and American govt. knows that very well. And the relative safety of American army men is slowly disappearing in the wake of America’s new adventures and it might get harder to get people from 3rd world in the future. They had tough time recruiting this year and it wouldn’t be too long before they take anyone who is willing to join regardless of nationality – or some sort of H1 program.

  21. I believe INA §329 only requires physical presence in the US when elisting in order to get citizenship. Sounds like a gamble a lot of folks would be interested in taking.

    Poor guy will get his wish, there is an expedited process for granting posthumous citizenship to persons who died in combat.

  22. I wasn’t clear…you can be an “illegal immigrant” and even have an order of order of removal against you, and still get citizenship. Just go and fight in Iraq and get honorably discharged.

  23. vurdlife,

    There are two issues here

    (1) Whether you can become a citizen if you are honorably discharged from the military, even though you enlisted as an illegal alien. – The Answer is yes if Bush has authorized the current war to be covered by Section 329. I know the First Gulf War was authorized as such, so I am presuming that the current Iraq war is also authorized as one which covers 329.

    (2) The second issue is whether the Army itself will hire you if you dont have a LPR status.(Green Card). From my cursory understanding of Army recruitment, it seems to me that these days the Army is only recruiting citizens and LPRs.

    1. He did, post 9-11 service is covered (presumably to combat terrorism). Somehow hostilities in Iraq are included.
    2. True, I didn’t think of that.

  25. I don’t quite follow. Why did Hatim want to obtain US citizenship if he already had permanent residency? The only reason I can think of was that he wanted to sponsor a family member.

    I’d be surprised if he joined the army unaware that he was eligible for federal benefits (unemployment) even as a permanent resident.

  27. Maybe joining the army to get his citizenship wasnt his goal. I mean with a greencard, he would have gotten a job eventually. The article mentions that he just got married, and I think thats why he took this extreme step. Unemployment can drive you nuts. To me this story is like looking in a mirror. After looking unsuccesfully for a job for more than 3 years, I wanted to join the army so that I could get off my behind and do something with my life. I was told at the recruiting station that I would need a green card to join and that effectively ended that adventure. Also, he was 23 years old. At that age, guys tend to think they are invincible, immortal. What ever the case, a truly tragic end.

  28. there are two or three more that i can think of, a pakistani-american national guardsman from new york, azhar ali; rasheed sahib, an immigrant from guyana; and uday singh and humayun khan.

  29. OK, I was reading these posts and I decided to help you all understand the circumstances behind this Soldier’s enlistment in the Army. 1) He was granted his citizenship in Jan 05. 2) He was married a few days before his deployment to Iraq to a non US citizen. 3) He joined to get GI Bill benefits in order to go back to school for his Master’s Degree. The articles quote his wife’s name wrong. He was a great Soldier and didn’t think he was immortal.

  30. To al Mujahid well i doubt if hatim had a green card. y would he join army to get citizenship if he had a green card. i mean after 5 yrs with the green card, he would have got citizen anyway. i think USA army r now signing in people from all type of visa since they are short of soldiers. i see the army representatives influencing especially college students right outside the colleges. they convince poor students by big and fast money, visa, status or anything that they has been missing in their lives and for what they are willing to risk their lives. i heard that he also got married to a US citizen in order to gain permanent visa, so he can have a better life ahead. however that would take too long so he planned to join the US army where he just had to serve like 6 months. this was the story i heard but after a research on google, i think that is not true.

  32. Well, I feel bad for the death of an indian.

    But gentle men can any one guid me how o join the u.s marnies being a non citizen.. I am also an indian living in india.. tell me how i can go there and how can i enlist

  34. Uday Singh was Indian citizen, but technically he was a merceenary. He might be a hero for America or some slavish Indians, but not for me.

    He was not fighting for India. In fact India condemns Iraq war, and he was violating Indian laws.

    Lastly, he could have fought against India too.