I was born in Colon, Panama in 1951 to an American solider. I have been in the US since 1953 Am I a US citizen by birth?

You may wish to hire an attorney to assist. The attorney should conduct a complete review and if the attorney believes you are a US citizen you can file a form N-600 for a certificate of citizenship. If not then you can file an application for naturalization - form N-400.

Actually Senator John McCain was also born in Panama and was found to be a US Citizen eligible to be President. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/politics/28mccain.html?_r=0 With that said, you ought to hire an immigration lawyer to fix this problem.

Citizenship and paying into social security or having a social security card are not the same thing. All the things you listed are excellent but are all things that can be done by non-citizens. Based on your Panamanian Birth Certificate you are at least a citizen of Panama but if your father was a US citizen and you can prove that then you may have a claim to US citizenship by birth. Determining whether you are a citizen by birth depends on the state of the law at the time. If if you are not a US citizen by birth, then you could try to find another way to naturalize either through your wife or adjust status because you have continuously resided in the US since January 1, 1972. After that you could naturalize 3 years later since you are married to a US citizen. I cannot say how that would affect your ability to receive social security benefits after naturalization. I advise that you hire an attorney to help you decide what your options are and gather the necessary documentation for any applications.