WW2 Vet told he isn't an American Citizen: Risks deportation.

[Plaidman]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theloo...-a-u-s-citizen


He is a 95 year old man, born to Iowa born parents. However, he was born outside America in British, and his parents never told the goverment. He served in WW2. Now he just wants to be an American, but is told if he presudes it, he may risk deportation or his social security.

[Andara Bledin]

The guy knew things weren't quite following regular channels, which is why he checked his citizenship status prior to joining the Navy.

The government totally dropped the ball and told him it was all fine.

Makes for a great human interest piece for the news and a great blurb for the senator helping him straighten it all out, though.

^-.-^

[muses_nightmare]

I read this the other day, the government really did drop the ball on it. I'm glad to hear that he's being helped though.





*Also, as a note, he was born in British Columbia, the shortened form of which is BC, not British. It's where I live.

[Greenday]

The guy knew things weren't quite following regular channels, which is why he checked his citizenship status prior to joining the Navy.

The government totally dropped the ball and told him it was all fine.

The military really didn't give a crap back then. If you applied, you got in. My grandfather got in the Navy during WWII. He was 15. He definitely didn't look 18 and he had even said they knew he wasn't old enough but just let it go.

[Andara Bledin]

It wasn't the military, but INS that told him his citizenship was fine.

You know, the people whose job it is to actually know these things.

^-.-^

[radiocerk]

I've always thought that if you join the military, especially in wartime, and are willing to die for this country, you should automatically be allowed citizenship. Why would you want non-citizens with potentially dodgy alliances in our military anyway?

[lordlundar]

Don't forget that this was at the same time Japanese descendants who are at least second generation Americans were locked up in concentration camps at the risk they might be spies. I should point out there was no proof they were spies or had any contact with Japan, but were locked up simply because they were of Asian decent. Chinese, Korean, essentially anyone of southeast Asian decent were given that treatment.

[Andara Bledin]

And the same would have happened to those of German descent if they had looked any different than those descended from every other western European country.

^-.-^

[protege]

German-descended people were locked up during WWI and WWII, in both the US and Canada. However, their numbers pale in comparison to what happened to people of Japanese descent. Even now, some people in the US are *still* pissed about Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, and other atrocities. Oddly enough, these same people keep quiet about similar atrocities committed by Germany and Italy...which were then under Nazi and Fascist rule

[Racket_Man]

German-descended people were locked up during WWI and WWII, in both the US and Canada. However, their numbers pale in comparison to what happened to people of Japanese descent. Even now, some people in the US are *still* pissed about Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, and other atrocities. Oddly enough, these same people keep quiet about similar atrocities committed by Germany and Italy...which were then under Nazi and Fascist rule

and do not forget all of the atrocities Japan commited in thier conqured Chinnese territories. there is still anonmocity between the two countries to this day.

[AdminAssistant]

Yeah, Pearl Harbor doesn't really compare to what Japan did to the Chinese. A friend of mine is South Korean, and he still doesn't like the Japanese (they used Koreans as slave labor, basically).

[insertNameHere]

I think an exception needs to be made, especially since back in the day serving in the military was a good enough reason to get citizenship when you were done, and he did that. Along with having family ties

[lordlundar]

I did not bring that up as an example of "country A is worse than country B", I brought it up as an example of how loyal citizens and military personnel were treated differently due to one factor. It serves as an example as to why this current response is not surprising.