December 22, 2014 – Titusville, FL
A soldier and his family broke down in tears when they saw what total strangers did for them in Titusville. Monday morning Jon and Emily got a Christmas surprise.
A truck filled with thousands of dollars worth of furniture, presents, and of course, a Christmas tree arrived at their house. This family is struggling. Jon said he was hurt in Iraq. “For any wife or spouse out there… knows that after deployment you are just so thankful for them to come home, even dealing with the PTSD fight,” Emily said.
They said they had been living in and out of their car for a time. “We actually stayed at rest stops overnight,” Emily said. “We were living in rest stops.” The couple met George Taylor at a support group for veterans. “I just asked him a question, you know, are you ready for Christmas?” Taylor said. “And he hesitated and said no.” The answer was no because they were just getting by, sleeping on air mattresses in a bare apartment. When George heard their story he wanted to help. So he contacted several area groups and everyone pitched in – donating furniture, cash and presents.

This family said they’re happy to be together and grateful for the generosity of so many strangers. “We brought things today to make their lives more comfortable so they can sleep and have a Christmas,” said Dana Blickley with the National Veterans Homeless Support. “What they bring to us is their service to this country.”

By Margaret Kavanagh, Reporter, News 13

Click the link below to view the video on Brighthouse News 13 –http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/video.html?clip=http://static.cfnews13.com/newsvideo/cfn/soldier-surprised-christmas.f4v&vtitle=Vet%27s%20family%20surprised%20with%20Christmas%20tree%2C%20furniture