A U.S. Army veteran, awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in combat, has self-deported to South Korea after being informed he could no longer remain in America under President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies.
Sae Joon Park, 55, a green card holder who has lived in the U.S. since the age of seven, departed on Monday following a removal order stemming from drug possession and failure to appear in court charges from over 15 years ago.
Park attributes these past offenses to years of untreated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which he developed after being wounded in action in Panama in 1989.
“I can't believe that this is happening in America,” Park told NPR in an interview before his departure. “That blows me away, like a country that I fought for.”
Having arrived in the U.S. from South Korea in the late 1970s, Park grew up in Los Angeles. Seeking direction, he enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school.
“I wanted direction and [to] better myself and maybe help serve the country,” he explained.
At 20, he was deployed to Panama as part of the 1989 U.S. invasion to topple Manuel Noriega’s regime. During a firefight, he was shot.
“I realized I was shot,” he recounted. “So I'm thinking, ‘Oh my God, I'm paralyzed.’ And then thinking, ‘Oh my God, I'm not just paralyzed. I'm dying right now.’” A bullet was miraculously deflected by his dog tag, saving his life.
Upon his return to the U.S., Park received the Purple Heart. While his physical wounds healed, the psychological trauma persisted.
Unaware at the time that he had PTSD, he did not seek professional help, leading him to turn to drugs to cope. "I had to find some kind of a cure for what I was going through," he told NPR.
For much of his twenties and thirties, Park struggled with a crack cocaine addiction. An arrest for drug possession and a subsequent failure to appear in court led to charges that ultimately derailed his chances of naturalization or relief from deportation.
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“I just couldn't stay clean,” he admitted. “So finally, when the judge told me, ‘Don't come back into my court with the dirty urine,’ which I knew I would, I got scared and I jumped bail.”
Although the U.S. offers expedited naturalization for veterans, Park was discharged before completing the required 12 months of service, and the Panama invasion was not officially recognized as a period of hostility, leaving him ineligible.
Park served three years in prison starting in 2009, during which he lost his desire for drugs. After his release, he moved to Hawaii, found work, and focused on raising his son and daughter.
Having completed his prison term, he was served with a removal order but was initially allowed to remain in the U.S. with annual check-ins with immigration officials.
However, under the Trump administration, circumstances shifted this month. During a meeting with local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Hawaii, Park was informed he would be detained and deported unless he left voluntarily. He was given an ankle monitor and three weeks to arrange his affairs.
“People were saying, ‘You took two bullets for this country. Like you’re more American than most of the Americans living in America,’” he told Hawaii News Now.
After spending his final days with friends and family, including his 85-year-old mother, whom he believes he may never see again, Park booked a flight to South Korea – a country he barely remembers from his childhood. Under the watchful eyes of ICE agents at Honolulu airport, he shared tearful goodbyes with his loved ones.
Despite the profound circumstances of his departure from the country he fought for, Park remains resolute. “Even after everything I went through, I don't regret joining the military or getting shot,” he said. “It's part of my life, my journey. It's made me who I am today.”
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