Military service members become U.S. citizens aboard the Midway

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Imagine the diversity that is America. Now imagine it represented on the deck of a former U.S. warship by people in the United States uniforms. 

A naturalization ceremony involving local sailors and Marines takes place every year on the Midway on the Wednesday before July 4. 

Keynote speaker, Congressman Darrell Issa, is an army veteran.

"It's a very proud time, people are becoming truly American many have been here for decades, but this is they're time to become full Americans," he said.

Ruben Valladolid was born in Tijuana.

In December, he's retiring after 20 years as a Navy Aircraft Mechanic. His wife and his daughter are U.S. citizens.

As for the Indonesian representative, Maria Guzman was born in Jakarta. She came to the U.S. at the age of 14, not speaking a word of English.

She joined the Navy because of it's education opportunities.