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.
Once dubbed "the Angel of the Red River Valley" Christ Bairaktaris, founder of Project Hope North, Inc., is back on the job in spite of the many health issues he's been dealing with in the past year.
Bairaktaris started Project Hope North, Inc. in Forest Lake in 1997.
While sitting in his small apartment he saw a news report on the Red River Valley flooding and how the people lost everything.
Looking around his simple domain, he said to himself, "I can share what I have."
And he did.
And then he went on to raise funds and collect everything from pots and pans to plastic bowls to bring to the flood victims of Grand Forks, North Dakota and other Red River residents.
It took over a year to supply the needs of dozens of displaced families.
He went on to help tornado victims, flood victims from other parts of the state and several who lost homes by fire.
So when Bairaktaris learned of a Forest Lake soldier who returned from Iraq only to become the victim of arson, he had to respond once again.
Bairaktaris has reinvigorated Project Hope North and is seeking assistance to help Major and his wife Jessica and their three children, Austin, and twins Aubry and Ashlin, who will be one next week, get on their feet.
Through Bairaktaris, Project Hope North hopes to raise $2000 for the Major family and another $2000 for a second soldier who also lost his home in the Fridley fire this summer also. And he said, if he could raise another $2,000 he'd be ready for the next person who needs his help.
Neither Major nor his wife have a job right now. During his tour in Iraq, Jessica stayed at home to take care of the children. Major missed the birth of his twins by two weeks. Jessica and Major were able to communicate while he was overseas, but it was a long 15 months, he said.
It is 15 months that will affect the rest of his life, he said, having seen and done things he never thought he'd have to do in his life.
Being home is a huge adjustment, Major went on, it's a different lifestyle than he was used to for the past 22 months. Austin remembered his daddy, but the twins were as new to Major as he was to them.
That adjustment becomes even more difficult when you have to deal with the loss of your home and possessions.
Area residents wishing to help the Major family through the Project North drive may send tax-deductible donations to: Project Hope North, Inc., P.O. Box 428, Forest Lake, MN 55025.
For information on other ways to help or make donations of household items the family may use, call Bairaktaris at (651) 464-7263 or call the Post Review office at (651) 674-7025.
©ECM Post Review
6448 Main Street
North Branch, MN 55056
Telephone: 651-674-7025
Fax: 651-674-7026
E-mail: editor.postreview@ecm-inc.com