Sae Joon Park, US war hero, self-deports after 50 years — sparks outrage over immigration system

Time of India

24-06-2025

After almost five decades of calling the United States home,
Sae Joon Park
, a 55-year-old
US Army veteran
, faced the hardest moment of his life, which was not combat, not years battling PTSD or addiction, but having to leave the country he fought for, as per a report.
Sae Joon Park's Painful Farewell After Nearly 50 Years in the US
Park, who is a green-card holder, had to self-deport to South Korea because of charges related to drug possession and failure to appear in court from over 15 years ago, said that these were the offences that stemmed from years of untreated PTSD, according to an NPR report.
During an interview with NPR before his departure, he said, "I can't believe that this is happening in America," adding, "That blows me away, like a country that I fought for," as quoted in the report.
His story shows both the challenges of life after combat and the danger that noncitizen veterans face if caught in the legal system, which has become even harsher after the US president Donald Trump administration pushed for record deportations, according to the NPR report.
Just when Park was 7 years old, he first came to the United States from South Korea to join his mother in Miami, but within a year, both of them shifted to Los Angeles, where Park had spent the rest of his childhood, as per the report.
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Growing up, he always looked up to his uncle, who was a colonel in the South Korean military and that motivated him to enlist in the US Army after his high school got completed, as per NPR report.
When he was 20 years old, Park had completed his basic training, and he was deployed to Panama and soon he became part of the 1989 US invasion known as Operation Just Cause to topple Manuel Noriega's regime, reported NPR.
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The Weight of Untreated Trauma
Park shared that Panamanian soldiers began to fire and so he started shooting back, but suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his back, he said, "I realized I was shot," adding, " So I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm paralyzed.' And then thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm not just paralyzed. I'm dying right now,'" as quoted in the report.
Then he was flown back to the United States, honourably discharged, and was also awarded a
Purple Heart
, reported NPR. While his body began to heal but his mind did not, as he revealed, "I was suffering from PTSD severely," adding, "From sleeping nightmares to like, having just fearful thoughts all the time. Couldn't watch horror movies, couldn't hear loud noises," quoted NPR.
However, during that time, Park was not aware that he was dealing with PTSD, and he never sought help, and the trauma slowly took a toll, which eventually led him to turn to drugs to cope, according to the report. He shared, "I had to find some kind of a cure for what I was going through," quoted NPR.
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Legal Trouble and Deportation Order
After that, in his 20s and 30s, he battled a crack cocaine addiction, and one the night in New York, when he was meeting up with a dealer, police arrested him, and he later even skipped one of his court hearings, reported NPR. He said, "I just couldn't stay clean," adding, "So finally when the judge told me, 'Don't come back into my court with the dirty urine,' which I knew I would, I got scared and I jumped bail," as quoted in the report.
According to NPR, he was charged with possession of a controlled substance and bail jumping, which also obstructed his chances of naturalization or getting relief from a
deportation order
.
Then he was in prison for three years starting in 2009, and following his release, he moved to Hawaii, where his family was living at the time and started working at a car dealership in Honolulu, where he spent 10 years while raising his son and daughter, as per the report.
After he came back from prison, he received a removal order but was allowed to stay in the United States with required annual check-ins with immigration agents, which is typical for individuals that ICE does not consider a priority for deportation, as per the report.
Saying Goodbye to the Country He Served
However, that rule changed earlier this month, and during a meeting with local ICE officials in Hawaii, Park said he was warned that he would be detained and deported unless he left voluntarily within the next few weeks, reported NPR.
This led him to say goodbye to his loved ones and then board a plane all by himself to leave the country he fought for, according to the report.
FAQs
Why did Sae Joon Park have to leave the US?
Because of old
drug possession charges
and missing a court date, which led to a removal order.
What caused his legal troubles?
His drug addiction, linked to untreated PTSD, led to charges and bail jumping, as per the report.