Butler County welcomed new American citizens Friday when five of its residents received legal citizenship.

Herman and Maria Moggee became American citizens, along with their three children, at the Heinz History Center after seven years of pursuing it. They took the oath of allegiance along with 43 other applicants from 19 nations around the world.

“I must say when we were saying the oath and I looked at the flag, you're saying it now with a different view of it,” said Maria. “Previously, we always had respect for the flag and 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' You show respect, but it was never yours. Now it's the first time it feels like it's ours.”

Born, raised and educated in South Africa, the Moggees left their homeland in 2008 when they found work in Germany. Herman and Maria are both engineers in the steel industry, and in 2010 their work took them to America where they ultimately settled in Mars.

“I was involved in building a new plant in the U.S.,” said Herman. “We saw this as a more permanent move than just a temporary stay.”

They first came to Alabama before moving to Mars in July of last year. Right away they got on the fast track to citizenship.

“It was always the mission in the end to become citizens, so it's a long route,” said Maria. “It was always that we were getting green cards and on our way to citizenship.”

A full report appears in the Butler Eagle.