95 year old WW II Navy vet finds out he isn’t a citizen
A 95-year-old military veteran just discovered he’s not a U.S. citizen.
“I always thought I was an American citizen,” Leeland Davidson said.
That is until he decided to visit relatives in Canada.
“We went up to get an enhanced driver’s license and they turned me down,” he said.
He was rejected because it turns out the World War II veteran is Canadian.
Davidson knew he was born in British Columbia in 1916.
“We always figured because he was born to U.S. parents he’s automatically a U.S. citizen,” said Davidson’s daughter, Rose Schoolcroft.
Davidson, who joined the Navy and served our country, is now a man on a mission to prove he’s American.
“I want it squared away before I passed away,” he said.
But proving his parents were American was a project.
“My Dad was born and we called Iowa and (they) didn’t start keeping records until 1880 and he was born in 1878,” Davidson said.
Davidson questioned his citizenship back in the 1940’s when he joined the Navy but received a letter from an attorney that said everything was fine. He says he forgot about it until recently, and he still has that letter.
Good to know the government couldn’t do paperwork seventy years ago either.
Leeland’s family is now concerned about his need for naturalization after people at passport offices suggested they leave well enough alone.
“If he pursued it, (he could) possibly be deported or at risk of losing Social Security, so it kind of scared everybody,” Davidson said.
The Problem Solvers spoke with Sen. Patty Murray’s office and received an application for citizenship, and since Davidson is a veteran it won’t cost him any money.
“I’m an American citizen,” Davidson said. “Why should I have to fill out these forms, that’s what irks me.”
Let’s hope this gets resolved soon.