Sae Joon Park, a decorated U.S. Army veteran wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart, boarded a plane to South Korea after choosing to self-deport in response to an ICE warning, ending nearly 50 years in a country he once risked his life to defend.
Park arrived in the U.S. from South Korea at age 7 and grew up in Los Angeles, according to NPR. He enlisted in the Army after high school and was later deployed to Panama. During Operation Just Cause in 1989, Park was shot in the back by enemy fire, an injury that earned him an honorable discharge and a Purple Heart.
But once he got home, he struggled with untreated PTSD, which would eventually push him toward substance abuse and, years later, a criminal record. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Park battled crack cocaine addiction and legal troubles, including a possession charge and a skipped court date.
These offenses led to a removal order and ultimately barred him from becoming a U.S. citizen — despite his service. Park served three years in prison and later rebuilt his life in Hawaii, working at a car dealership and raising two children.
For years, he was allowed to remain in the U.S. with annual ICE check-ins. But during a recent meeting, officials informed him that he now faced imminent deportation unless he left voluntarily.
Rather than face detention, Park chose to leave. In the days before his departure, he said goodbye to his mother, his children, and the only country he's truly known. Despite this, Park expressed no regrets about serving in the U.S. military.
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