Grand Forks Airman one of the newest Americans

Airman 1st Class Doris Ochoa-Parra calls her mom from the morale tent inside the American fortified enclave in the city. Her conversation is interrupted by explosions nearby.

“What was that noise?” her mother asks.

“Nothing,” Airman Ochoa-Parra replied. “I have to go now. I love you.”

The 20-year-old Airman hangs up the phone and hustles to the nearest shelter. It isn’t the first time she’s heard the explosions nearby, and it won’t be the last. The experience, she says, reminds her of Warrior Week during basic training.

With less than two years in the Air Force, Airman Ochoa-Parra has experienced more than many who have served a full career. The personnel specialist with the 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron saw combat at two of the many locations she visited during her 120-day deployment as a third country national escort earlier this year. Soldiers she spoke to told stories of buddies dying in front of them, yet it was not the first time she had to deal with death.

Airman Ochoa-Parra attended the funeral of Airman 1st Class Alexander “Frank” Folgar, 319th Maintenance Squadron, in the summer of 2003. Airman Folgar was a friend, and his parents didn’t speak English very well, so Airman Ochoa-Parra accompanied squadron leadership to help translate.

She did all this before becoming an American citizen.

Doris Yolanda Ochoa-Parra was born 1984 in Cuenca, Ecuador. Her father, Jose, and mother, Teresa, lived in a small house in the Quinta-Chica barrio with Doris and her three older siblings.

When Doris was a year old, her father immigrated to the U.S., where he found a job in a children’s clothing factory in New Jersey. Three years later, Doris’ mom joined him. The couple sent money to Doris’ older sister to take care of the rest of the family.

“We were really poor,” Airman Ochoa-Parra said of her childhood. “To go to school, you had to wear a uniform. We wore our uniforms every day so they were torn and our shoes had holes in them.”

Daily meals consisted of coffee and bread for breakfast, and bread and soda for lunch. Every now and then they would have a banana during lunch.

When she was 6 years old, her father returned to Ecuador intending to take his children back to America. Airman Ochoa-Parra said it was like meeting him for the first time, and she wasn’t ready to leave her home. America, though, quickly appealed to her.

“It was like, wow, food,” she said of the sudden change in diet. “It was a modern place for me.”

It was modern, but still foreign. Doris didn’t speak English when she arrived so she was placed in a bilingual class at the local school. She began learning her new language during summer school and sharpened her new talent during the school year. When she finished third grade, her teachers decided she no longer needed the bilingual class. Her progress, however, moved her further from her Hispanic roots.

Although Jose Ochoa had gained his U.S. citizenship, Teresa was having problems immigrating. She needed to go back to Ecuador for two years before she could legally stay with the family. She took Doris with her.

The change in scenery was more difficult for Doris this time. She had lost grasp of her native language and it caused problems at school.

“I had to buy a Spanish-to-English dictionary,” Airman Ochoa-Parra said. “I needed tutors to help me with math, and I would study until 3 or 4 in the morning.”

She also began rebelling against her mother.

“I was getting into so much trouble,” she said. “I hung out with the bad crowd. Mom didn’t know what to do with me.”

Her mother threatened to send her to a convent, which scared the young Doris.

“Little by little I got some sense in my head,” she said.

Her grades improved and she started enjoying life in Ecuador again. After finishing ninth grade, she returned to New Jersey with her mother. She finished high school on the honor roll and began planning for college.

During a career day at her high school, a Navy recruiter encouraged Doris to enlist. The military appealed to her since she had lived near an Ecuadoran Army post as a child and her grandfather had served in that same army, fighting in the on-going border dispute with Peru. Doris was ready to join, but the then 17-year-old needed her parents’ permission.

“All I had to do was go to the (Military Entrance Processing Station) and I was in,” she said, but her parents refused to give their permission. By the time she was 18, Doris had a change in heart and decided to join the Air Force.

After basic training and technical school, Airman Ochoa-Parra was stationed at Grand Forks. She soon began checking into getting her citizenship. She sent in her application and waited.

“Then I found out I was getting deployed,” she said.

“It was scary at first, but I got used to it,” she said. “It was a good experience and I learned a lot.”

Her co-workers, Capt. Colleen Ewasko, Tech. Sgt. Kevin Kennedy and Senior Airman Angel Boss, accompanied her to the official ceremony Sept. 17 in Fargo.

“It was a really special day for me,” she said. “I would have liked my family to be there, but I had the support of my squadron.”

She said her new citizenship has already benefited her.

“I felt like so many doors opened for me,” Airman Ochoa-Parra added, noting that she can now get her security clearance, reenlist, or retrain into a different career field. “I can vote.”

Even though she’s the wing’s newest citizen, Airman Ochoa-Parra has already experienced more than many Warriors of the North.