Kwame James with Hillary Clinton and Michael Wildes.
Kwame James didn’t get the recognition he deserved for doing a heroic act that possibly saved many lives. Now he’s an American citizen at last and we’re a better country for it.
From the New York Post:
Kwame James is officially an "American" hero.
The Trinadad-born basketball player who helped stop shoe bomber Richard Reid from blowing up an American Airlines flight was finally sworn in as a US citizen on Thursday.
"I feel great. Obviously it has been a long time coming. I feel like it’s a huge weight off my shoulders. I feel proud to be part of the greatest country in the planet," the 6-foot-8 James told The Post after an Atlanta swearing-in ceremony.
James, 32, was playing in France and was on his way home for Christmas when the 6-foot-4 Reid tried to ignite a bomb hidden in his sneakers aboard a Paris-to-Miami flight in December 2001. After a flight attendant asked him for help, James sprang into action and helped subdue the wild-eyed terrorist and then sat on top of him until the flight safely landed in Boston.
"What he did, instinctively jumping up and subduing Richard Reid, this is what citizenship is about," said James’ immigration lawyer Michael Wildes. "He instinctively did the right thing. He is a hero and a model citizen."
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Via New York Post
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