World War II Vet Discovers He's Not a US Citizen

95-year-old Leeland Davidson to undergo naturalization process
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 25, 2011 11:07 AM CDT

Leeland Davidson is a 95-year-old who fought for the US in World War II—and he's just learned that, technically, he’s not an American. He was taking a trip to the DMV to apply for an ID to visit relatives in Canada, when he got the surprising news. “We went up to get an enhanced driver’s license, and they turned me down,” Davidson told Fox News. “They said, ‘Uh, you’re Canadian.’”

Davidson was born in Canada in 1916, Aol News explains, but figured that because his parents were both American, so was he. Unfortunately, they never registered his birth with US officials. Now Davidson is applying to become a citizen at last, with the help of Sen. Patty Murray. “I want it squared away before I pass,” he says. But proving his parent’s heritage may be nigh-impossible; they were born in the 19th century, before their home state, Iowa, started keeping birth records. Click for more on Davidson's story. (More World War II stories.)

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