By Lance Cpl. Dylan Walters
Recruit Wilnes Accius, with Hotel Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, poses for a photo on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. July 30th, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dylan Walters)
Wilnes Accius was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti and grew up with his mother and siblings. In 2009, his father asked him to move to the United States to live with him. After an 8-month immigration process, Accius’ green card was approved and he moved to Orlando, Florida.
“I was excited to move to the United States,” Accius said. “I was sad to leave my mom but starting a new life in
America is what motivated me. I was excited to visit a new place and gain a new experience.”
Accius had dreams of enlisting in the military, and told his father that after high school he had plans of becoming a Marine. “I wanted to join the Marine Corps because there is something that separates them from all the other branches – something that makes them better,” Accius said. “My recruiters didn’t tell me it was going to be as hard as it was; once things started kicking off it really surprised me. I really had to adjust and adapt to the environment, and it was extremely challenging.”
Hoping to make a career out of the Marine Corps, Accius was disheartened when his drill instructors informed him that if he made it through boot camp, his green card would expire shortly after his projected graduation date. One of the minimum requirements to achieve naturalization in the Marine Corps is to have at least 180 days of active service; Accius’ green card would expire before he could meet this requirement.
“I hope to make a career out of the Marine Corps; it’s something I want to be a part of for a long time,” Accius said. “The set graduation date made me nervous; I didn’t want to have to worry about my green card during training.”
His senior drill instructor, Staff Sgt Fernando Castro, asked him if he could swim, water survival being a requirement to pass recruit training. He told them he could, so Castro told Accius that he had a plan to help stay and complete training.
Accius was taken to an immigration center in Charleston, S.C. by his drill instructor in order to renew his green card for another year. After a couple of hours of paperwork he was given a one-year extension to his green card and returned to training.
“I’m happy that I don’t have to worry about my green card anymore,” Accius said. “I can keep my focus on training and becoming a Marine.”
Accius graduated with Hotel Company on October 4th, 2019.
