Posted: 8/15/07
Veteran and family find home in NB after arson sets them back
 Army Spc. Stephen Major, his wife Jessica and three little ones have found a home in North Branch. |
By MaryHelen Swanson
He was raised in Forest Lake, and graduated from Forest Lake High School in 2002; that same year he joined the Minnesota Army National Guard. Most recently he served a 22-month tour of duty, 15 months in Iraq.
In June, Army Spc. Stephen Major was given a choice: stay in Iraq or fly home early to take part in reconnaissance training.
He chose to come back to the states, and because he had a few days before the training, he went home to his wife and children who were living in a townhouse in Fridley.
Within days of coming home, the townhouse the family was renting was hit by arson. That was determined because the fire started on the outside of the front of the home.
The midnight fire left the family of five homeless and without many of their possessions and they had no insurance. Much damage was done to Austin's room and the kitchen. Austin is 2 1/2. The family was asleep when the smoke alarm went off. No one was injured.
If Major hadn't made the choice to come home early, he would not have been there the night of the fire.
One week earlier, some 20 garages in the same Fridley complex had been torched.
It wasn't the welcome home a purple heart Iraqi veteran expects.
But word gets around and people help each other out. So today, the family is living in North Branch, renting a home they hope to some day be able to purchase.
Almost every furnishing is donated and a glass-topped coffee table, while appreciated, is not good for children just learning to walk and bang items on surfaces.
In addition, as those who suffer disasters know, there are so many small items in a household you can't even begin to understand how difficult it is to replace them.
Enters an angel.
Veteran's family
Continued on page 3
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