On the recordNovember 6, 2007
Specialist Kendell Frederick was a 21-year-old U.S. Army soldier serving in Iraq. He dreamed of becoming an American citizen. He was born in Trinidad and came to this country when he was 15 years old. Specialist Frederick joined ROTC while in high school, and he joined the Army after he graduated. I want to make the point about how important ROTC is in the recruitment of our military personnel and having that available at the high school and also at the college level. On October 19, 2005, very sadly, Kendell Frederick was killed by a roadside bomb while traveling in a convoy to a base. He was granted U.S. citizenship posthumously, but he never knew that he was an American citizen. Tragically, the very reason that he was in the convoy that day was to get fingerprinted in order to achieve his dream of citizenship. He had been trying to become an American citizen for over a year, having started the process while he was in training.
Source
govinfo.gov
