KXLY, the ABC affiliate in Spokane, Washington reports that “WWII veteran Delbert Belton survived being wounded in action during the Battle of Okinawa only to be beaten and left for dead by two teens at the Eagles Lodge in Spokane on Wednesday evening,” in an article that’s currently atop the Drudge Report:
Belton, 88, succumbed to his injuries Thursday morning at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Witnesses say Belton was in the parking lot of the Eagles Lodge at 6410 N. Lidgerwood, adjacent to the Eagles Ice-A-Rena, around 8 p.m. Wednesday when the two male suspects attacked him as he was about to head inside to play pool.
Police responded with K-9s to track the suspects’ scent but were not able to locate them.
“It does appear random. He was in the parking lot, it appears he was assaulted in the parking lot and there was no indication that he would have known these people prior to the assault,” Spokane Police Major Crimes Detective Lieutenant Mark Griffiths said.
Belton died from his injuries Thursday morning at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
“Shorty,” as he was known by his friends at the Eagles Lodge, served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific during WWII and was shot in the leg during the Battle of Okinawa. He went on to work at Kaiser Aluminum at the company’s Trentwood plant for more than 30 years. Belton’s wife passed away several years ago.
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Spokane police are looking for two male suspects in the attack. They said the suspects are African Americans between 16 and 19 years old. One suspect was described as heavy set and wearing all black clothing. The other was described as being about 6 feet tall and 150 pounds. There was no description of what clothing the second suspect was wearing other than a silk do-rag.
Police investigating the deadly attack on Belton have also obtained surveillance footage from the scene. Click this link to see still images of the two suspects in the attack.
Twitchy adds, “Police believe the attack on Belton, who friends say was wounded in Okinawa during the war, was a ‘random’ event without clear motivation. Boredom, perhaps? While Jesse Jackson somewhere works up a stern frown, others aren’t waiting to express their outrage.”
Plus this:
If I still had a grandfather, he’d look like Delbert Belton.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 22, 2013
If my father was still alive (he died at age 84 in 2006), he would have had much in common with Belton. RIP.
Related: Jonah Goldberg on MSNBC, “The ‘Race Conversation’ Network,” and their epistemic closure regarding recent shooting victim Christopher Lane.
“Unexpectedly,” as Bloomberg.com would say.
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