Gerald Leo Smith, Homeless Korean War Veteran Needs Help Proving He's Alive

Daytona Beach homeless veteran says he can't get help because government thinks he's dead

WFTV 9 News

By: Lauren Seabrook

Updated: Dec 5, 2017 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - When Teri Ahmann found Gerald Leo Smith living in the bushes in Daytona Beach as Hurricane Irma loomed, she saw a bit of herself in him, having been homeless herself three decades ago.

She decided to reach out to the Navy veteran and offered to buy him a drink.

“For whatever reason, he just looked sad to me, so I walked up and I say, ‘Can I get you a beer?’” Ahmann said.

She then asked Smith where he was planning to shelter during the hurricane.

“He said he didn’t know,” Ahmann said. “He was going to go where God told him to go.”

Ahmann decided to take Smith in and soon learned that he served in the Navy during the Korean War and had been walking the streets for more than three decades.

She helped Smith clean up, bought him new clothes and even tried to open a bank account in his name.

That’s where they realized they had a problem.
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