Welcomes 97 New American Citizens

American flags waved red, white and blue as 97 new American citizens took the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown in May. The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Honor Guard and Field Musick Virginia led a patriotic procession with candidates emigrating from 47 countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia, to a ceremony to make their American citizenship official, complete with cheers, celebratory remarks and artillery salutes. The artillery amphitheater was full of family and friends, onlookers and even Ms. O’Hanlon’s 8th-grade class from George P. Phenix School in Hampton, offering a real-world civics lesson.

Carol Edlow, a longtime JYF museum educator, served as keynote speaker, reflecting on her family’s own experience and emphasizing the courage of these new American citizens, especially the naturalization process.

“I want to give homage to that attribute today courage—the kind of courage that it takes to make the decision to leave your homelands, customs and cultures that are so dear and familiar to you, to go forth and thrive in a new land,” she said. "I urge you now to go forth and add new stories of your own to the fabric of this quilt that we call America."

The event, planned to be an annual occasion each May, was hosted by the Yorktown Comte de Grasse Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security.