54 years after he was KIA, PFC Gutierrez is honored
Teresa Guerrero visited Calvary Cemetery in Wichita a couple of years ago to pray at the grave of her cousin Private First Class Christopher Gutierrez.
She had to get help because his grave was unmarked.
Private First Class Christopher Gutierrez, from St. John, Kansas, was killed in action at age 22 on July 20, 1970, in Binh Tuy, Vietnam. He received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with valor for his supreme sacrifice – but no headstone.
Headstone installed on Sept. 16
It took Guerrero, a member of St. Mary’s Parish in Garden City, many months of work, but 54 years after his death, Gutierrez received a headstone honoring him. It was installed at his grave site on Monday, Sept. 16, in Calvary Cemetery.
Her undertaking began with a request to the Veteran’s Administration for a headstone. They rejected it because she was not next-of-kin.
“So I called his brother in Illinois…and told him I need to get Chris a headstone,” she said. “He said, ‘I thought the government already did that.’ I told him no, I filled out papers but they won’t accept my request.”
PFC Gutierrez’s brother could not proceed with the request so Guerrero asked that he compose a notarized letter authorizing her to do so. He did. She mailed it to the VA – with no response.”
It took a family dinner to solve the problem.
“I happened to be with my daughter and son-in-law and his friends who were both in the Air Force,” she said. “I don’t know what brought it up but I told them my cousin didn’t have a headstone and that the VA would not accept my paperwork.”
They made some suggestions which Guerrero didn’t think would work. “So my son-in-law and his friends said: ‘You need to call the TV station.’”
KSN story provokes action
She called KSN in Wichita. Reporter Derek Lytle broadcast the story on May 27, Memorial Day.
“I guess it got to someone in the VA,” she said. “The next thing I knew, I got a text from somebody and she told me I’ll have a girl contact you. So she contacted me and that’s where we went.”
Guerrero witnessed the installation of a headstone for PFC Christopher Gutierrez on Monday, Sept. 16. Her mother, Clara Gutierres, and two sisters were with her.
She thanked KSN and John Sponsel, the director of Catholic Cemeteries, for their assistance in her pursuit.
Sponsel said headstones are important because they are reminders of our loved ones. “It encourages us to visit and pray and give thanks,” he said. “It encourages the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy of burying the dead, attending funerals, visiting graves, and praying for the dead and dying. This is where we may gather to pray for and reflect on the great gift our loved ones were and are to us.”
PFC Gutierrez served with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 199th Infantry Brigade, United States Army in Vietnam. He is listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., at 8W/35.