It’s been 10 years since World War II and Korean War veteran Conrado Nira died – May 12, 2016.
A year ago, insult was added to injury after the plate on the former soldier’s tombstone at Our Lady of Guadalupe Cemetery was removed and possibly stolen for its copper value. The case remains unsolved.
In March, however, the grave received a replacement tombstone plate from San Gabriel Monuments at no charge.
Nira’s daughters, Pat Alderete and Belinda Munoz, both of Taylor, were relieved upon discovering the addition when they visited their father’s final resting place March 31 – the day Nira would’ve turned 100.
“I cried tears of joy and relief (when we found out),” Alderete said. “His tombstone had been gone for almost a year.”
While Memorial Day, which is May 25, is not a day of celebration, the time of remembrance will be a little less painful for Nira’s family since a tombstone plate is back in place.
“I was grateful that San Gabriel Monuments replaced it at no charge,” Munoz said. “We had to be patient because government moves like a snail, but to have my dad’s tombstone replaced meant a lot.”
A year ago, Nira’s missing plate was discovered by family friend Librado Luna, who died June 7, 2025.
In the weeks prior to his death, Luna spoke to the Taylor Press about theft of Nira’s plate.
“I visited graves on Mother’s Day, and the plate was still there. But when I came back the next morning, it was gone,” Luna said. “I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t know if the cops would investigate something like this.”
According to Alderete, the day Luna discovered the missing plate May 11 was the day before the nineyear anniversary of her father’s death.
Meanwhile, Luna hoped the person or persons responsible for stealing the plate on Nira’s tombstone — as well as other tombstones in the cemetery — will “pay for what they did.”
Alderete described her father as a “very proud veteran” but a man of few words.
Nira also received a Purple Heart — a service award established in 1872 by then-Gen. George Washington to honor military members injured during combat.
“He flew his Purple Heart flag proudly,” Alderete said. “Dad was very quiet. He’d come home from work and Mom wouldn’t hear him come in. He watched TV on ‘mute’ and in the dark. He never missed church on Sundays either.”
Munoz said the cemetery theft remains painful, especially remembering the stories her father told them of his war days. She fought back tears while describing it.
“My dad had some stories that he couldn’t finish because talking about them traumatized him. Nobody knows the stories that we know,” Munoz said. “He was 17 and they took him off of a dairy farm in Hondo, sent him overseas and handed him a gun. He was told to use that gun to kill the enemy in a foreign country.”
Like Munoz, Alderete also has fond memories of her father and has faith that justice will be served in the theft case.
“His favorite TV show was ‘M*A*S*H.’ Dad never complained about the food that Mom cooked because there were days that he went without food when he was at war,” Alderete said.
Now that their father’s grave has a new tombstone plate, Munoz said they can feel at peace observing Monday’s holiday.
“This will be like any other Memorial Day,” Munoz said. “The bottom line is my dad having a tombstone plate to mark his grave and what he fought for. He fought with mind, body and soul as a 17-yearold for three years. He deserves it.”
