John Shelton will be warm this Christmas, thanks to the members of American Legion Post 58.

John is a legally blind veteran who woke up last December after the heavy rains to find the ceiling of his Scottsdale condo caving in due to the soaked insulation.

The water had run down the walls and shorted out his big screen TV, his link to the outside world.

Eileen Higgins, night bartender at the Legion and a longtime friend of John’s, approached the Post Service Officer and said “there has to be someone who can help him!”

John’s homeowners insurance told him that his was the only complex they managed that did not cover flat roofs. His homeowners insurance argued that they covered wind and hail damage but not rain damage.

After many frustrating phone calls with his insurance carriers, no one would cover his roof and the temperatures were dipping to freezing. With no insulation left in his ceiling, John would wake up to 40-degree temperatures in his home.

When offered to stay with friends, he responded, “I’m a Marine, I can adapt!”

After helping John fill out reams of paperwork, we got him approved for a new roof through Project Help in Scottsdale. When his roof was finally replaced, months after the flooding, we organized a work crew. Home Depot in Scottsdale donated $300 worth of materials we needed.

We replaced the insulation, sheetrock, taped, mudded, and painted the ceiling in his living room.

Thanks to the Sons of the American Legion, Ben VanEtten, Nick Krentiras, Tommy Thompson, and Legionnaires Harold Denomme and Steve Cheversia.

We gave John $1,000 through our Veterans helping Veterans program to help with his ruined flooring. Ben then stepped up and installed the new wood floor for John. John has since gone to blind school at the VA in Tucson and is looking forward to getting his seeing-eye dog.

He would like to thank all his friends at the American Legion for the hand up and say “Merry Christmas to all.”

(Story and photos by Judi Beischel, American Legion Department of Arizona Commander.)