[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 27765-27766]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF JOHN CASTELLANO, AN AMERICAN SOLDIER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DANA ROHRABACHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 7, 2005

  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of a 
valiant American soldier who, through no fault of his own, never became 
an American citizen. 1st Sgt. John Castellano of New York State and 
California was worthy of becoming an American citizen. I would like to 
tell you his story.
  John Castellano was a native of Sorrento, Italy. He joined the United 
States Army in 1911. He served with the U.S. armed forces for more than 
25 years with honor and distinction. For example, Sgt. Castellano 
served admirably in World War I and the Pacific Theater of Operations. 
For his valiant service, he was awarded numerous medals and ribbons, 
including the ``West Indies Campaign'' ribbon, the VFW medal, and an 
award for bravely rescuing a man from drowning on July 21, 1921.
  Sgt. Castellano believed that he was a naturalized U.S. citizen by 
dint of his service to the United States. Unfortunately, through 
circumstances unknown to us today, he was required but failed to fill 
out the necessary documents to become a U.S. citizen. As a result, he 
did not become the American citizen that he always believed he would 
become. Today, we have members of the Armed Services who assist foreign 
members of our armed forces to become U.S. citizens. According to 
recent newspaper articles, foreign soldiers serving with coalition 
forces in Iraq can become U.S. citizens in less than six months. And it 
is right to honor those who fight and risk their lives for this great 
country. Unfortunately, no one was able to assist Sgt. John Castellano, 
an Italian immigrant, to become a naturalized U.S. citizen so many 
years ago.
  His family lives in my district. Members of the Castellano family 
learned of this tragedy only in recent years although John Castellano 
died in 1937. Since they learned of these circumstances, the family has 
been trying for several years to obtain posthumous citizenship for 
John. Unfortunately, the law does not allow John to become a U.S. 
citizen at this late date. Therefore, I am honoring Sergeant 
Castellano's service to the United States, and want to state for the 
Congressional Record that his service and heartfelt love for this 
country is commendable and makes him worthy of citizenship.

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