Wednesday night an 88 year old WWII veteran named Delbert Belton was attacked and beaten by two teenagers outside the Eagles Lodge in Spokane, Washington. He died Thursday of massive head injuries.
During WWII Belton (see picture) had fought in the Pacific, and survived being shot in the leg during the Battle of Okinawa. That's right, he survived the bloodiest battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations; a nearly three month death match where a U.S.
The USS Laffey is best remembered today as the "ship that would not die" - this moniker given after the 2,200 ton destroyer survived five kamikaze and four bomb strikes that caused 103 casualties, from a crew of 336, all while the ship was on picket duty off Okinawa in the spring of 1945. However, what also must be remembered is that the USS Laffey, launched in 1943, is also the sole surviving World War era US Navy destroyer to have participated in the epic Battle for the Atlantic fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany.
