Combat-Wounded Veteran Forced to Leave the U.S.: “I’m Shocked—This Is a Country I Fought For”

• Sae Joon Park: Wounded Veteran Deported
• Suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder
• ICE enforced strict immigration policy

Sae Joon Park served the United States, was wounded in combat, honored with medals—yet still ended up outside the country he swore to protect.

The 55-year-old U.S. Army veteran of South Korean origin left the U.S. on Monday, following a deportation order.

His departure was devastating: he left behind his two adult children and his 85-year-old mother.

Sae Joon Park came to the U.S. at the age of seven and grew up in Los Angeles.

The Story of Sae Joon Park, a Veteran Who Gave It All for the U.S.

After graduating high school, Sae Joon Park enlisted in the Army and was deployed to Panama in 1989.

During the U.S. invasion to oust President Manuel Noriega, Park was seriously wounded.

“I was shot in the spine with an AK-47, and also with an M16 in the lower left side of my back,” he told Hawaii News Now.

He thought he would die, but a dog tag helped absorb part of the impact, and he received immediate medical care.

He was awarded the Purple Heart and honorably discharged.

But Sae Joon Park’s wounds weren’t only physical.

You may also like: Trump Plans to Dismiss Asylum Claims and Speed Up Deportations

“I suffered from severe PTSD,” he told NPR. “From nightmares to constant fear. I couldn’t watch horror movies or handle loud noises.”

He never sought professional help and turned to drugs to cope with the trauma.

That led to arrest and incarceration.

He also missed the chance to become a U.S. citizen and only kept his green card.

In 2009, Sae Joon Park was convicted and spent three years in prison.

After prison, ICE didn’t immediately deport him—instead, they placed him under annual supervision.

After Rebuilding His Life in Hawaii, Park Faced Deportation

Sae Joon Park rebuilt his life in Hawaii, worked at a car dealership, and raised his children.

However, under the Trump administration, immigration policy changed drastically.

With new daily arrest quotas, ICE informed him he had to leave the country or face detention.

Park chose to self-deport to South Korea.

“It’s probably the last time I’ll see her,” Sae Joon Park said of his mother in an interview with NPR.

“If [my daughter] gets married, I won’t be there,” he told Hawaii News Now. “If my parents pass away, I won’t be there. I’ll miss so much. And things will definitely happen—I just won’t be there, which is heartbreaking.”

The Department of Homeland Security claimed the deportation was due to drug possession and failure to appear in court 15 years ago.

Park insists all of it stemmed from his combat-related trauma.

“I can’t believe this is happening in America. I’m shocked—this is a country I fought for,” he said to NPR.

“Despite everything that’s happened, I don’t regret joining the Army or getting shot,” he added. “It’s all part of my life, and it’s made me who I am.”

Do you think the U.S. government should do more to protect immigrant veterans like Sae Joon Park?

Source: Univision