SEATTLE – A 95-year-old World War II veteran who got into a jam earlier
this month because he couldn’t prove his U.S. citizenship will soon have
all the proof he needs.
Leland Davidson will receive a certificate of citizenship in a special ceremony on Tuesday, along with 58 other people.
Davidson,
of Centralia, ran into trouble earlier this month when he applied for
an enhanced driver’s license so he could visit relatives in Canada.
He
was rejected – even though he served honorably in the U.S. Navy during
World War II – because he was born in British Columbia.
His parents were U.S. citizens who moved back to the United States when Davidson was 5 – but Davidson couldn’t prove it.
“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’s
family even began to worry that the World War II vet could lose his
Medicare and Social Security – and didn’t know where to turn.
The
KOMO 4 Problem Solvers spoke with U.S. Sen. Patty Murray’s office and
received an application for citizenship, and since Davidson is a veteran
it didn’t cost him any money.
Davidson eventually was able to find proof of his parents’ U.S. citizenship, which automatically makes him a U.S. citizen.
He
will receive a special certificate from the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services at Tuesday’s ceremony that takes the place of a
birth certificate as proof of U.S. citizenship.
– KOMO News
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