compiled by Patrick H. Moore
Delbert “Shorty” Belton was an 88-year old World War II vet. He was shot in the leg during the Battle of Okinawa, survived that, came back to America and worked for 33 years for Kaiser Aluminum. Then he retired. This was a guy who knew how to enjoy his golden years. A couple of night each week he would head over to the Eagles Lodge in Spokane, a lounge where he would play pool and gab with his friends. This week, for no apparent reason, he was brutally beaten and left for dead by two teens, described as “two young African American males,” outside the lounge.
Ed Payne and Amanda Watts of CNN write:
A juvenile has been arrested by Spokane police in connection with the beating death of an 88-year-old World War II veteran this week, police said Friday. The suspect has been charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree murder.
The motive? Police don’t have one. Authorities believe that the teens appear to have picked him at random. The police found Mr. Belton in the parking lot, with serious head injuries. He died Thursday.
“It does appear random,” Spokane police Lt. Mark Griffiths told reporters. “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.”
This is the second time this week that a seemingly random attack by teenagers has claimed a life. On August 16, Christopher Lane, a 23-year-old Australian baseball player attending college in Oklahoma, was gunned down in the town of Duncan by three teenagers because, according to one of the teens, “we were bored and didn’t have anything to do.” Since, then there have been new reports that Chris Lane may have been the victim of a gang initiation killing.
The randomness of the two attacks, gang or no gang, was not lost on Mr. Belton’s long-time friend Ted Denison.
“It’s really depressing,” Denison told CNN late Thursday night. “Seems that all there is is bad news.”
The two men met more than 20 years ago and worked on cars together.
“We were mechanic buddies,” the 42-year-old Denison said. “We just kind of kicked right along. We went dancing on Saturday nights. We went out to breakfast together.”
According to Denison, Belton stopped by the Eagles Lodge two or three times a week. He played pool, but by his own admission, wasn’t too good at it.
“He went up there and played pool, met with some of the guys he used to work with at Kaiser Aluminum.”
Mr. Belton’s wife died several years ago, He has a 65-year-old son.
The Circumstances
According to witness Lillian Duncan, on Wednesday night, Mr. Belton was outside the lodge waiting for a friend because he didn’t want her to walk home alone. The attack apparently occurred during this interval.
“He was so awesome,” Duncan told the Spokesman-Review. “Anybody that didn’t get to know him missed out on a wonderful angel in their life.”
Although one suspect has reportedly been arrested, law enforcement is still pursuing leads:
“We are actively looking for the suspects in this tragic incident and following up on tips and other leads in order to bring those responsible to justice,” said police spokeswoman Monique Cotton.
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Outside the lodge Thursday, friends and strangers alike left flowers, flags and messages for Mr. Belton. He will clearly be sorely missed by his community. I take some consolation in the fact he was apparently quite content in his old age and was still active socially. Still, I can’t help but dwell on that moment of appalling recognition he must surely have experienced when the two teenage punks came up to him and started hitting and kicking him.