Delbert Belton, 88, a World War II veteran, was beaten to death by two teenagers in Spokane, Washington in a random attack.
The vicious beating happened on Wednesday night. The war hero tragically passed away the following morning at a local hospital from his injuries.
The Seattle Times reports that “Police say they received a call about an assault at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday and responded to find the victim sitting in his car. He had suffered serious head injuries. He was taken to a hospital, but died Thursday morning.”
Police responded with K-9s but were unable to located the suspects, according to KXLY.com.
Belton, a widower, was a US Army combat veteran who was wounded in the Battle of Okinawa. After the war, he got a job with Kaiser Aluminum, where he worked for about 30 years.
The two teenage suspects, described as black males about 16-19 years old, allegedly attacked Belton, who was known to his friends as “Shorty,” as he was about to enter the Eagles Lodge in Spokane to play pool. The suspects are still at large but evidently have been identified on surveillance video. Local authorities are requesting the public’s help in locating the suspects.
Family and friends described Belton as “ full of life ” and a person who loved playing pool, working on cars, and helping other people.
According to a Spokane police official, “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.”
One of many commenters on the KXLY website wrote that “Shorty was a wonderful man who did not deserve this… my kids thought of him as another grandfather and he would have done anything to help someone if he could… this was senseless and cowardly.”
#DelbertBelton . Please RT. Don’t let him die without anyone caring.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 23, 2013
