Presidents and candidates from both parties have told you the same thing.
Ronald Reagan, 1984: “We call ourselves a nation of immigrants, and that’s truly what we are.”[16]
George W. Bush, 2006: “We’re a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws. We’re also a nation of immigrants.”[17]
Barack Obama, 2014: “My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants.”[18]
Hillary Clinton, 2016: “I think we are both a nation of immigrants and we are a nation of laws.”[19]
There are two kinds of immigrants in this country: grateful and ungrateful.
Be that as it may, every one of us gets judged by what we do, not where our parents came from.
On Nov. 5, 2009, Army Maj. Nidal Hasan walked into the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood. He shouted “Allahu akbar” and opened fire on soldiers getting ready to deploy. [3][4]
Thirteen dead. Thirty-two wounded. [2][4]
That was almost 17 years ago.
This week, the country finally named the date.
THE DATE
On Oct. 2, President Trump approved Hasan’s death sentence. [1]
On Oct. 6, the acting Secretary of the Army, Adam Telle, ordered the execution: firing squad, Fort Hood, 1 p.m. Central, Dec. 3, 2026. [1]
Same post where Hasan did it. [4]
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell put it in one line: “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.” [3]
If it happens, it’s the first military execution since 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth. [2]
Now the Pentagon says it will livestream it. [8]
Why? Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said it himself, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, in an interview with Jack Posobiec: “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public. Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” [20][21]
THE THIRTEEN
Say their names. Not his. Theirs. [4]
- Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, 55
- Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, 52
- Capt. John P. Gaffaney, 56
- Capt. Russell Seager, 51
- Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow, 32
- Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29
- Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, 22
- Spc. Frederick Z. Greene, 29
- Pfc. Aaron T. Nemelka, 19
- Pfc. Michael S. Pearson, 22
- Pfc. Kham S. Xiong, 23
- Pvt. Francheska Velez, 21, and her unborn child
- Michael Grant Cahill, 62
They were unarmed. They were standing in line for shots and paperwork before deploying. Hasan fired 146 times at soldiers who wore the same uniform he did. [4][8]
So who pulls a trigger on his own? Let’s look at the man who swore the same oath they did.
HE SWORE THE OATH
I’m not a general. I’m not a lawyer, but I’m an American citizen. Qualifies for just as much.
Here’s what I see.
Hasan was born in Arlington, Virginia, to Palestinian immigrant parents. That makes him a second-generation immigrant. [11][15]
What matters is what he did with what he was given.
The Army trained him as a doctor. [11] He served two decades. [4] He made major. [7]
Then he turned his gun on the men and women next to him.
At trial, he called himself a soldier who had “switched sides.” [7]
He told military mental health workers he could “still be a martyr” if executed. [8]
That’s not a grievance. That’s a choice.
The show doesn’t judge where your parents were born. It judges what you do. Hasan’s conduct is on the record: 42 counts, guilty on all of them. [1]
THEY SAW IT COMING
This part should make you angry.
In 2011, a Senate committee found that the Defense Department and the FBI “collectively had sufficient information necessary to have detected Hasan’s radicalization to violent Islamist extremism but failed both to understand and to act on it.” [9]
Two officers at Walter Reed called him “a ticking time bomb.” [9]
His superiors took no punitive action. [9]
Worse. His evaluation for 2007–2008 praised his work on Islam and terrorism as having “extraordinary potential to inform national policy and military strategy.” [9]
They didn’t just ignore the warning signs. They wrote him a good report card.
The FBI had him, too. A task force flagged his communications with a suspected terrorist. [10] That was Anwar al-Aulaqi, the al-Qaeda recruiter. [13] A second task force “dropped the matter rather than cause a bureaucratic confrontation.” [10]
Read that again. The FBI and the Army both had Hasan’s file. The Army wrote him a good report card. The FBI ducked a confrontation. Thirteen people are dead.
That’s what coddling looks like. It’s as pernicious as laziness. Same body count.
That’s a stewardship failure. Nobody wanted to be the one who said it out loud.
THEN THE SILENCE
None of this is secret. The Senate report came out in 2011, with the “ticking time bomb” line, and it made national news. [9][10] The court-martial in 2013 made national news, too. [1]
The press covered the trial. Then it stopped asking why the system let it happen.
That’s what I’ve seen. Thirteen years of quiet about the file the FBI dropped and the report card the Army wrote. I haven’t seen anyone go back and ask who answered for it, what changed, or whether it could happen again. If you’ve seen that reporting, show me. I’ll put it up.
Now the date is set, and the coverage is back. It’s about the firing squad and the livestream. [2][3][4][8] Not the al-Aulaqi messages. Not the officers who called him a time bomb. Not the task force that ducked a confrontation.
The execution answers for Hasan. It doesn’t answer for the system.
THE FAMILIES WAITED
The families didn’t sit still.
In 2012, 148 victims and family members sued the government, Hasan, and al-Aulaqi’s estate. [12] A federal judge dismissed the claims against the government in January 2019. [13] The last of them were thrown out in 2020. [14]
So the courtroom door closed on them.
They waited anyway. Through the court-martial. Conviction in August 2013. Death sentence five days later. [1] Then appeal after appeal, until the Supreme Court turned Hasan down on March 31, 2025. [1]
Thirteen years from sentence to signature.
CBS Texas says the families and survivors have been “intertwined over the last 17 years.” [4] They were emailed before the announcement and asked whether they want to attend. [4]
THE SURVIVOR AND THE DAUGHTER
Alonzo Lunsford was a sergeant that day. He was shot multiple times, including once in the head. He played dead. [5]
“I want him to go out the same way that he inflicted death on innocent soldiers,” he said. “I’m all in support of firing squad.” [5]
He plans to be there. [5]
His message to the other survivors: “You weathered the storm… now we can close this chapter and live.” [5]
That’s gratitude. Shot, and still telling everybody else to help those who can’t help themselves. [5]
Keely Vanacker lost her father, Michael Cahill. She doesn’t want the headline. [6]
“For me, he was already dead.” [6]
Survivor Callie Logsdon wants you to remember officer Kimberly Munley and the soldiers who responded. [6]
They’re right. Remember the people who stood up. Forget the man who switched sides.
THE OTHER SIDE
Hasan’s civil attorney, John Galligan, calls the rush “horrific” and says no lawyer was present when Hasan was notified. The Army says it made every reasonable effort and followed policy. [7][8]*
Fair enough. Follow the rules. Then carry out the sentence.
THE THREE A’S
- Accountability: Hasan owns every round. The FBI and the Army own what they saw and didn’t act on. After 17 years, Hasan’s accountability has a date. The system’s still doesn’t.
- Assimilation: He grew up here and learned everything this country had to teach. Then he chose the enemy’s cause. It isn’t about where you’re from. It’s about what you choose.
- Allegiance: He swore it and broke it. Lunsford kept his, shot again while medics worked on him in the grass. [5]
YOUR NEXT STEP
Learn the 13 names. Say them on Dec. 3. Send this to someone who’s forgotten Fort Hood. Read the rest of the series at thegratefulimmigrant.com, and follow @GratefulvsUngrateful.
Grateful, or Ungrateful?
Spine, not knees.
LIVE GRATEFUL.
*Dec. 3 may not be final. Hasan could still file a federal habeas corpus petition, which experts say could delay the execution for years. [3][7] The CBS Texas date of 17 years is counted from the 2009 shooting. The death sentence came in August 2013, 13 years ago. [1][4]
Sources
- U.S. Army: Army Sets Execution Date for Convicted Murderer Nidal Hasan (Oct 7, 2026)
- NBC DFW: Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan to face firing squad, Pentagon says (Oct 5–6, 2026)
- NPR: Trump approved the military’s 1st firing squad execution since WWII (Oct 7, 2026)
- CBS Texas: Nidal Hasan set for Dec. 3 execution by firing squad at Fort Hood (Oct 6, 2026)
- KWTX: Fort Hood massacre survivor reacts to execution order (Oct 6, 2026)
- KXXV: “He was already dead”: Fort Hood survivor and victim’s daughter speak out
- AP via ClickOrlando: As Army moves to execute Fort Hood shooter, questions about procedure linger (Oct 7, 2026)
- AP via The Journal: Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed (Oct 8, 2026)
- Senate Homeland Security Committee: “Ticking Time Bomb” Fort Hood Massacre Could Have Been Prevented (Feb 3, 2011)
- CNN: Report: FBI, Army failures preceded Fort Hood massacre (Feb 3, 2011)
- NPR: Hasan’s Story Won’t Be Easy To Sort Out (Nov 6, 2009)
- Reuters: Fort Hood shooting victims sue government, accused shooter (Nov 2012)
- FedSmith: Fort Hood Shooting Victims’ Lawsuit Is Dismissed (Jan 24, 2019)
- Manning v. McHugh, U.S. District Court for D.C., memorandum opinion (July 21, 2020)
- The Bulletin (Bend, Ore.): After years of growing tension, 7 minutes of havoc (Nov 9, 2009)
- Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Remarks at Fudan University in Shanghai, China (Apr 30, 1984)
- White House (archived): Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Immigration (May 15, 2006)
- White House (archived): Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Immigration (Nov 20, 2014)
- The American Presidency Project: Presidential Debate at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (Oct 19, 2016)
- Military Times, Oct 8, 2026: Pentagon official says Hasan execution will be livestreamed; Hegseth quote
- Axios, Oct 8, 2026: Hegseth on making the Hasan firing squad public
