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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Troops help clean up WWII vet’s vandalized home

Troops help clean up WWII vet’s vandalized home
Army Times
By Gina Harkins
Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 6, 2013 7:05:09 EST

Marines are stepping up to assist a 93-year-old World War II veteran after learning he returned from a doctor’s appointment to find his home destroyed by vandals.

Elbert Wood served as a Marine rifleman for four years before being medically discharged as a corporal for wounds sustained on Guam. He received two Purple Hearts during his time in the Corps. When he returned to his home in Houston on Jan. 21 — 19 days after losing his wife — he found the walls, furniture, appliances and carpet covered in spray paint.

“When I opened the door, I was just amazed to see spray paint on the walls,” he said. “I’m 93, so I have to walk with a walker, and I just went through the house and hollered around to ask if anyone was still there.”

Two juveniles were later arrested. His was the second home they allegedly hit that day, he said, and he would’ve shot them had he been home when it happened. But one of the fathers came to apologize later, and Wood said he felt bad that the father has such troubled kids, so maybe he wouldn’t have been so hard on them.
Veterans with GruntLife, an organization for combat vets started by former infantryman Derek Cloutier, turned to Facebook to gather donations. Their goal: to send Wood to Washington to visit the World War II Memorial and National Museum of the Marine Corps.
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