MOUNT VERNON, Va. — With one of the nation’s most famous immigrants watching, more than 100 people from 95 countries took the oath of allegiance to become U.S. citizens in an Independence Day ceremony Friday morning on the lawn of George Washington’s home.

“Immigrants are action heroes,” said actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the keynote speaker for the event. “Action is what got you here. You wanted something more, so you went after it. You worked hard, you struggled, and you persevered.”

Schwarzenegger recalled a ceremony in 1983 at which he himself took the oath, about 15 years after arriving from Austria.

“The day I raised my right hand and became an American citizen was, without a doubt, one of the greatest days of my life,” said Schwarzenegger. “If you told me on that day that 43 years later I would be standing at Mount Vernon, the home of one of my heroes and a historic symbol of freedom and democracy, to welcome more new citizens, I would have been shocked.

“But that’s the beauty of the United States of America: nothing is impossible. I owe everything to this country, and I can’t wait to share this moment with these new citizens to remind them of the limitless opportunity afforded by their new home. I hope they will feel the same debt of gratitude that I’ve tried to repay throughout my whole life by giving back, being committed to our Constitution, and united by our shared values.”

Schwarzenegger urged the new citizens to be proud of where they came from, while building a future. “An accent is nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “It is a memory of your past. It is telling a story, and it’s part of what makes your voice distinct. America needs your story.”

“What I am saying is, to be an American you don’t have to fit in a box. Trust your vision of the future, and trust your vision of yourself.”

He joked that he once took “accent-removal classes. I walked around the whole day saying, ‘a fine wine grows on a vine.’ And ‘three thousand, three hundred thirty-three and one-third.’ Those are the things German-speaking people have trouble pronouncing. So I worked on it and worked on it, and this is why today I have absolutely no accent at all.”

“I’m still looking for that coach, to get my money back.”

Among the new citizens were two active-duty U.S. service members, Marine Lance Cpl. Luis Vasquez, from Ecuador, and Army Spec. Francisco Sandoval, from Peru.

Vasquez, who came to the U.S. 10 years ago at age 15, is currently stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. He said he was inspired to join the Marines in part by the movie “American Sniper,” and how it showed “the commitment and honor the Marines have.”

Vasquez said having Schwarzenegger as guest speaker on his big day was “a pleasure” because “to have him, a fellow immigrant who became a governor … that’s something that would inspire anyone.”