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Citizenship granted to Iwo Jima flag raiser

ARLINGTON, Va. — It has been more than 63 years since Sgt. Michael Strank helped raise the American flag during World War II on the infamous Mount Suribachi and, until Tuesday, he had never officially been presented with U.S. citizenship.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services honored the fallen hero by presenting his youngest sister, Mary Pero, with a certificate of citizenship at the Marine Corps War Memorial, the monument that immortalizes five Marines and a sailor captured in an iconic Pulitzer-winning photograph taken Feb. 23, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

“I’m just so proud to be here to receive this certificate in honor of my brother,” Pero said when she was handed the framed certificate by Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of USCIS and a retired Marine officer.

Pero didn’t know much about her brother. He left for World War II when she was 3, and was killed by artillery fire on Iwo Jima days after the photo was taken.

But Pero said she heard many good things about him from her others brothers and his friends, and had a conversation many years ago with former Cpl. Ira Hayes.

“I could always go to Mike, and he could always make me feel good,” Hayes said of Strank, Pero recalled Tuesday.

Strank was born in Jarabenia, Czechoslovakia, in 1919, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1922 with his mother. In 1935, his father became a naturalized citizen, giving his children automatic citizenship.

Strank’s citizenship was never called into question. His official Marine Corps biography states he was born in western Pennsylvania.

But recently, a Marine security guard, Gunnery Sgt. Matt Blais, began researching Strank’s descent while working at the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava, Slovakia, and discovered Strank was not a natural-born U. S. citizen. Blais petitioned USCIS for formal citizenship on behalf of Strank.

“Today, we have corrected that record for Sgt. Strank and his family,” Scharfen said. “He is part of a long and distinguished line of American immigrants that have served our country.”

Strank fought in three separate World War II campaigns on the Pacific front, including battles at Pavuvu and Bougainville, and won the Bronze Star with V for valor. He died March 1, 1945.

His sister said he was a common man and wouldn’t like all the attention.

“He was there and he did his job,” she said.

Among the family members on hand was Strank’s 9-year-old great-grandnephew, Tommy Pero, who carried around a picture of his great-great-uncle.

Tommy said he had to do a report on someone he admired while in second grade and picked Strank. After learning what he had done from his “Grammy,” he began to carry the picture with him all the time.

Said Tommy, “I keep a picture of him on my desk and I take it with me whenever I travel.”