Even after earning the Purple Heart for his bravery and calling the United States his home since the age of 7, on Monday Sae Joon Park self-deported due to immigration issues.
He served in Panama during the Noriega war in 1989.
“I got shot in the spine with an AK-47, M16, in my left lower back. In my mind, I’m going, ‘Oh my god, I’m shot in the back. I can’t feel my legs. I must be paralyzed,’” he recalled to Hawaii News Now.
Park faced post-traumatic stress disorder after being honorably discharged. He turned to marijuana as a way of dealing with stress, but that led him to develop an addiction to cocaine.
He ended up serving two and a half years in prison in 2009. These charges also led to the revocation of his green card and detainment by ICE.
He fought the deportation in court and was allowed to stay in the country due to being a Purple Heart veteran. However, recently, he was told he must leave the country willingly or he will be deported forcibly.
“ I can’t believe that this is happening in America,” Park told NPR in an interview prior to his departure. “That blows me away, like a country that I fought for.”
Park leaves behind a wife, two children and an 85-year-old mother.
“President Trump sucks. I will try to come back after Trump leaves,” Park told Newsweek in a statement.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has so far not responded to various media requests for comment.
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