Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

It was two days before Thanksgiving in 2007 and United States Air Force Captain Cristina Miranda was busy preparing for the coming holidays. Christmas is always the happiest time of the year ever since she was a little girl among her family in Tarlac. Though she has immigrated to the US in 1992 where the Yuletide season is not celebrated as long and as festive as in the Philippines, still it is the best time in the year for the young Air Force captain and her husband, Richard, and two sons, Derek and Joshua.

Then, the unexpected came. Cristina received a notice that day that she is being deployed to the war-torn country of Iraq.

"I was notified two days before Thanksgiving that I was being deployed to leave on December 13. I never envisioned myself going to Iraq. I was sad," Miranda recalled. "But I made friends with many people who were also serving. It was a good career move," she admitted.

Though her family and friends feared for her safety, Cristina was able to finish her deployment without any problems. "I went to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, where I got to visit Saddam Hussein’s palace as often as I want. I stayed in Iraq for a year and got to travel to different sites through helicopters and C130s. I’ve heard mortar attacks but was not harmed," said Miranda.

The brave and courageous Pinay has truly come a long way from her native province of Tarlac. Born on May 3, 1971 in Tarlac, Tarlac, Cristina attended elementary and high school in the College of the Holy Spirit in Tarlac. She then moved to Manila for her college education, taking up BS Mathematics, Major in Actuarial Science at the University of Santo Tomas, graduating cum laude.

In April 1992, Cristina immigrated to California with her mother and brother. "My mother was sponsored by her sister, my aunt. We waited 13 years before the petition was approved. I arrived in California with my mother and younger brother, just two months before my 21st birthday. The next year, I came back to the Philippines to marry Richard," said Cristina who shuttled back and forth from California to the Philippines over the next few years. She had a son named Derek, now 16 years old. "I could not take my husband and son with me right away, so they had to stay behind in the Philippines. I did different kinds of jobs in California, from working two days in Sbarro, to other agency-supplied temporary work," she added.

It was love for her family that challenged Miranda to join the Air Force. She told her story to Asian Journal. "While I was on vacation in the Philippines, my husband’s uncle suggested that I apply in the US military so I can get my husband and son faster than just waiting for me to become a citizen. So, the main reason why I joined the Air Force in 1994 was the hope of getting my husband to the US in the quickest possible time.  However, it took the same amount of time to petition him—5 years.

You see, I’ve been here in the US two years before I joined the Air Force.  To apply for citizenship, you need to be active 3 years.  So, it’s not true that joining the Air Force would be quicker. Recruiters will tell you whatever you want to hear. It wasn’t true, but everything was all a blessing.  I was fooled that being in the service, you have special preferences. But, it was a good decision to join the military anyway," shared Cristina.