AL ASAD AIR BASE – North of Manila, Philippines, near Mount Pinatubo, lies Angeles City, hometown of Spc. Genesis Liwanag. Liwanag came to the U.S. in 2004 when his aunt petitioned to be his sponsor for citizenship. He had to leave his wife and daughter behind in order to pursue his dream of becoming a U.S. citizen.
After his arrival in Indianapolis, and with a Permanent Resident card in hand, Liwanag secured a job as a service mgr with Walmart Automotive, and joined the Indiana Army NG in November 2007.
During the mobilization training for Iraq, Liwanag started the paperwork to becoming a U.S. citizen. Little did he know that his dream would come true in a country where freedom and citizenship are also being established.
The dream does not end there for Liwanag. His long-term dream is to achieve citizenship for his wife and daughter. In order to do so, Liwanag will become a sponsor for them. Luckily, Liwanag is saving as much of his deployment income as possible. When asked what freedom meant to him, he jokingly replied, "I legally get to pay taxes – that's a good thing!"
