Man finds missing WWII veteran's headstone during demolition in Umatilla

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Published  October 1, 2024 9:24pm EDT
FOX 35 Orlando
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Man finds missing WWII veteran's headstone

A routine demolition project turned into a life-changing discovery for one family when Lance Clyde, a contractor, found a headstone plaque for a World War II veteran.

UMATILLA, Fla. - A routine demolition project turned into a life-changing discovery for one family when Lance Clyde, a contractor, found a headstone plaque for a World War II veteran.

Clyde was tearing down a shed when he found the gravestone of Staff Sergeant Walter Furlow, who served in the U.S. Army and passed away in 1986.

"My instinct was to find who owned it and return it," Clyde said. After asking the homeowners if they knew anything about it and getting no leads, he turned to Facebook for help.

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More than 300 comments later, Jennell Grenier saw the post and recognized the name. 

"It's an amazing thing. I've known this family for 20 years," Grenier said. She connected Clyde with the Furlow family in Eustis last weekend.

The family was unaware that a gravestone had ever been made for Furlow and are puzzled as to how it ended up in Umatilla. Still, they are grateful to have it back.

"Thank God for these people who found it," the family said, remembering Furlow as a family man, a good cook, and a jokester.

Clyde, whose own grandfather served in the Navy, said the reunion meant a lot to him. "I'm so excited they're all happy. It makes me feel good inside," he said.

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