The first Kurdish evacuee to become an American due to her birth on US soil at Naval Hospital Guam is examined by US Navy Lieutenant Joyce Siler as the infant's grandmother keeps an eye on the procedure. The 8 lb. 13 oz. girl was named Helan, which means "leaving" in arabic. Helan will avoid the immigration processing required for the other Kurdish evacuees of Operation PACIFIC HAVEN currently being housed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The operation, a joint humanitarian effort conducted by the US military, entails the evacuation of approximately 2,400 Kurds from northern Iraq to avoid retaliation from Iraq for working with the US government and international humanitarian agencies...

The original finding aid described this photograph as:

[Complete] Scene Caption: The first Kurdish evacuee to become an American due to her birth on US soil at Naval Hospital Guam is examined by US Navy Lieutenant Joyce Siler as the infant's grandmother keeps an eye on the procedure. The 8 lb. 13 oz. girl was named Helan, which means "leaving" in arabic. Helan will avoid the immigration processing required for the other Kurdish evacuees of Operation PACIFIC HAVEN currently being housed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The operation, a joint humanitarian effort conducted by the US military, entails the evacuation of approximately 2,400 Kurds from northern Iraq to avoid retaliation from Iraq for working with the US government and international humanitarian agencies. The Kurds will be housed at Andersen AFB, while they go through the immigration process for residence in the United States.

Subject Operation/Series: PACIFIC HAVEN

Base: Andersen Air Base

State: Guam (GU)

Country: United States Of America (USA)

Scene Camera Operator: PH2 Jeff Viano, USN

Release Status: Released to Public
Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files