Mario Ramos-Villalta of El Salvador has served two combat tours in Iraq, but has yet to get U.S. citizenship.
'Green-card Marine' prepares for 3rd deployment
He's fought twice in Iraq and survived an attack on his Humvee in October 2005. Now, he's preparing for deployment to Afghanistan.
Yet he's not even an American. He's a citizen of El Salvador serving in the U.S. military.
"A lot of the papers I get [say], 'You're a great American,'" the 22-year-old Purple Heart recipient says. "I am not an American citizen yet, but I still fight for it."
He adds, "Sometimes, I do get depressed about still not being a U.S. citizen and going over there."
