I guess this is an example of a wrong finally being righted!
The trouble is, this wrong should have never happened at all! Just another case of the government getting it wrong once again!
It seems to me that our older veterans, folks that have put their very lives on the line for their country, are way too often being treated like second class citizens. These people don't ask for much...just the respect that they are entitled to! Respect denied to them by the very country that they were willing to die for!
At least in this case, the matter was corrected. All I can say is...it's about time!
Story Published: Apr 1, 2011 at 12:55 PM PDT
Story Updated: Apr 1, 2011 at 8:42 PM PDT
WWII vet, 95, to get US citizenship
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.
Once in a great while, the PTB get it right! It may take longer that it should, but sometimes the good guys DO win!
Let's have some coffee on the patio this morning, OK? God Bless Our Republic!
9 comments:
That is the only logical outcome in my opinion. The man is a hero and I betcha there would have been a real uprising if that had continued on the original path.
Sometimes our government representative can actually be of assistance. Too bad it isn't all the time.
I don't believe that you needed to be a US citizen to have been in the US armed services during WW2. I heard of a lot of young US pilots going to Canada to join their airforce so that they could go to England and fight the Germans before the US got into the action.
Sure glad they got that straightened out. Took 25 years for me to get my GED certificate after passing the test while I was in the army. I shipped out to Viet Nam after that and never saw the certificate until I started doing some research 25 years later. I was denied some really good jobs in that time because I never knew I had passed and should have gotten the certificate.
Hey Ben...
I'm just glad they finally got things worked out!
Not so many vets around from that era anymore...so we need to treat them with honor!
Thanks, buddy, for coming by today!
Hey Momlady...
I'm happy to say that this time the rep did, indeed, provide a fair service!
Hey, thanks for coming by today!
Hey Dizzy...
It seems to me that you're right about that, but in this case the guy was born in the United States!
By the rules today, that would make him a citizen without question! Just ask one of those many visitors from foreign countries that come here every year!
Started off as such a mess, but seems to have ended well! Thank goodness!
I really appreciate your visit, buddy!
Hey Tffnguy...
Amazing what a difference a simple piece of paper can make. isn't it?
I'm glad you were able to finally get the recognition and the magic paper!
I really appreciate you coming by today, my friend!
Thank goodness it turned out right. Poor man must have been worried aobut losing his SS and other much needed benifits.
I just finished filing my own taxes if you don't hear from me I may be in tax prison. LOL and how come it said free filing and it cost me $90. Oh well maybe next year I use a different free one. NO
No refund from the Feds but a $25 from the State.
It is a beautiful morning isn't.
Hey JoJo...
I'll send you a cake with a file in it, if you land up in the pokey!
When dealing with the government, nothing is really free!
Thanks, sweetie, for coming by today!
To all my readers...I said in an earlier answer to Dizzy's comment that this guy was born in the United States. That was a mistake on my part! He was born in British Columbia, but came back to the states with his parents when he was 5 years old.
Both of his parents were citizen's! Just wanted to set the record straight about my mistake!
I will ditto everybody elses "Thank Goodness". Unfortunately, not only WWII Vets are slow getting much deserved recognition. My husband was only 19 when we married and had already been to Viet Nam twice. tffnguy can probably attest to the fact that our Vets weren't respected back then. I saw with my own eyes signs in California that said "Sailors and dogs keep off the grass". I had friends that were spat on.. some people didn't want to let it be known that they knew members of the armed forces. Like you said, "Better late than never"! While talking with a young military man in an airport recently I thanked him for his service and he apologized to me for the treatment my husband and others in our situation had. I am so glad to see our military honored the way they should have always been. Enough from my soapbox today!!
Love you and thank you for your service, too!
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