WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A Kansas family is fighting to pay respect to their loved one and trying to get him a headstone more than 50 years after he was killed. Private First Class Christopher Gutierrez is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Wichita.
He is a Purple Heart recipient and was shot dead in South Vietnam in 1970. His cousins said they could not find his unmarked grave without help and believed he had a real headstone.
Not a good place to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of a loved one.
“He died saving someone else’s life. He got a Purple Heart, but no stone, no headstone,” said Teresa Guerrero.
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Guerrero and her sister visited Calvary Cemetery last year to place flowers and American flags, but because they didn’t have a headstone, they couldn’t find her cousin’s resting place.
She said his barren plot was not representative of his service or sacrifice.
“Oh my God, my little sister, her and I, we just opened our eyes and we just started crying because there was nothing, nothing,” Guerrero said.
She contacted the local VA, who helped her send VA Form 40-1330 to get a headstone, but was denied because she has no immediate family.
‘She said: I need to talk to a brother, a sister or his parents. You’re a cousin and you don’t count,” Guerrero said.
His only living brother has Alzheimer’s disease, making it difficult to get him to fill out paperwork.
Guerrero is determined to make his resting place fit for a hero.
“There’s nothing there. It’s like he didn’t fight for us,” Guerrero said.
She plans to continue working with the VA and the director of Calvary Cemetery to get a headstone for her nephew.
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