Homelessness is an issue that plagues the whole community, but it especially hurt my heart when homelessness affects our veterans who gave their all for our country.
Often, veterans go unnoticed and ignored by society. But one veteran’s Jeep caught the attention of a shopper in Altoona, Iowa.
Jake Holloway had been shopping at the Walmart and Target stores in Altoona for a few weeks, and every time he went, he noticed the same silver Jeep in their parking lots, according to WHO-TV.
One day, when taking a closer look at the vehicle, Jake noticed that the silver Jeep Wrangler had “I served” stickers on the window.
That compelled him to finally have a talk with the driver – but Jack was utterly stunned at what he found inside the jeep.
Iowa resident Jake Holloway posted about his experience on Facebook and wrote that he had noticed a silver Jeep in the parking lots of the Altoona Walmart and Target over the past few weeks.
When Jake saw a sticker in the vehicle’s window, an “I Served” in Iraq decal, he decided he needed to check into this situation further.
He couldn’t look away anymore and stopped to talk to the veteran, whose name was Nick.
Jack soon learned that Nick had been going through some pretty tough times ever since returning from serving overseas.
Nick told Jack that after he got back from Iraq, his wife left him. After 4 tours, all Nick had was his Jeep and his loyal friend – a dog.
With heavy weight in his chest, Nick explained his heartbreaking story to Holloway and said that he had been sleeping in his Jeep for some time.
He did had a job with the Department of Transportation, but Nick hadn’t been paid yet.
After hearing this, Jake decided he wanted to help the struggling veteran.
Jack went home and posted about his encounter on Facebook, pleading with the community to help.
“Told him I liked his Jeep. He liked my Toyota,” Jake said.
“And, I asked him if he was alright. He told me his name was Nick and after he had got back from overseas his wife left him and left him with his Jeep and his dog. He’s got no money and broke as a joke. Told me he just got a job at the DOT but hasn’t been paid yet. Said he had started selling things off the Jeep to have any money at all.”
Jake continued:
“It broke my heart. If you wanna do something for someone out of pure selflessness, please…,” Jake said, imploring others to help. “If you see him. Out of the kindness of your heart. Do something nice for him or his best friend (the boxer dog). Few bucks. A gift. Some dog food. That’s my request. Makes me sick to see a soldier on the street.”
Jack’s post really hit many in their heart and the community responded in a big way.
Apparently, Nick’s tragic situation made the good people of Altoona sick as well.
Within just a few hours, people had shown up to give Nick money, gift cards and dog food.
According to WHO-TV, one extraordinarily kind person even went down to the Walmart and paid in full for Nick and his dog to stay at a hotel for a week.
The cannonade of support for Nick, who spent a long time in the US. Army and did several tours overseas, has been tremendous.
It warms my heart that the people of Altoona rallied up to help a struggling war veteran, and Nick apparently received most everything he needed to get by until he gets paid from his new job.
And we should not forget that Jack easily could have went on about his life and never done a thing.
But instead, his generous nature ensured that Nick has a warm place to rest, and his best friend is taken care of!
This story is spreading a message of goodwill, generosity and kindness … and such things are priceless. Please share this story on Facebook if you agree!
