WWII Veteran’s headstone found in empty building

A veteran’s final resting place is supposed to “final,” but for one WWII that promise was not kept.  Near the University of New Mexico a man who was tasked with cleaning an empty building found the headstone of a WWII veteran.

According to KRQE, “Gene Medrano said he went inside for a drink of water while cleaning up what’s left of an old tattoo parlor near Central and Yale last week.”

Gene found the headstone of Dorman Smith, who served during WWII in the Navy.  No one knows how the headstone found its way into an old tattoo parlor.

Gene, who is a veteran himself, said “It was an emotional moment for me.”  He continued to say” Coming back from Vietnam, no one cared about us. They called us, ‘baby killers.’ They called us, ‘war mongers.’”

This discovery occurred less than a week from Memorial Day and we can only hope this veteran’s gravesite is restored in time.

A website that lists grave sites states that Dorman’s grave is in Melrose Memorial Cemetery in New Mexico, but the exact location is not listed.