Military service can trigger pride in an ethnic heritage a soldier previously avoided.

Evidence

Perhaps for the first time in his life, Sami started to feel proud of his Arabic heritage. He learned more about his history from the interpreters, especially from this paternal Palestinian, than he had in his entire past. He could talk in Arabic to these guys and leave the marines in the dark, having something on them. “You know, these guys are happy about being Arab,” he told me, “Why can’t I be happy about being Arab?” He found himself talking more often to his parents on the phone. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 264

Categorization

• QUESTION: What specific conditions made Sami’s heritage feel like an asset rather than a liability? The interpreters’ presence and his growing Arabic competence seem central.
• XREF: Connects to the broader theme in the book of second-generation Arab Americans navigating identity between cultures, and to assimilation research on identity ‘return’ movements.