Veterans at the DeLand Naval Air Station Museum are trying to solve the 17-year-old mystery of how a headstone of a World War II veteran from Ohio appeared in Volusia County.
The museum, which is located at the DeLand Airport Business Park, has a constant reminder of the mystery on its front door: the tombstone of a Richard Lee, a World War II veteran.
"We have no idea where it came from," said Scott Storz, a museum member.
The headstone was initially found on the side of the road by DeLand police in 1998.
Storz said police investigated but found no gravesite missing the headstone. It was later taken to the museum.
A newspaper in Ohio traced the name and found Lee's gravesite with a headstone at the Green Lawn Cemetery in Ohio.
However, there seems to be a mistake with the headstone. Records show Lee was born May 3. The headstone in front of the DeLand-based museum states he was born May 5. That mistake could make it a throwaway headstone, but it still doesn't answer how it arrived in Volusia County.
"I've checked with several of the headstone makers," Storz said. "They've never seen anything like it. They don't make (them)."
The museum contacted a federal agency in charge of veteran headstones and gravesites.
Storz said they are on their way to DeLand to investigate if another World War II veteran with the same name is buried elsewhere and missing a headstone.
"Respectfully, that's where it really belongs — on a gravesite," Storz said.