Brian Ivers may have been born in Australia. But he is as American as they come.

“I’m Australian by birth, American by choice and a Marine by the grace of God,” the retired Master Gunnery Sergeant said.

Since coming to the United States in 1982, Ivers has dedicated himself to his country — and its history — more than all but a handful of people born in the U.S.

He dove into that history, and what it means to him to be an American, at the Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday morning at Bittersweet Park in Greeley.

He started at the beginning, before the country even existed, with the “shot heard ’round the the world” — the shot that officially kicked off the Revolutionary War.

“They don’t know who fired the shot,” Ivers said. “Well, I spent a bit of time in Massachusetts. I’m here to tell you

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