Jul 15, 2009 7:16 pm US/Central
Sailor Comes Home From Iraq To Renovated House
PARK FOREST, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Jeff Toll stands outside his south suburban home. Volunteers with VFW and Operation Homefront fixed his family's roof while he was on a tour of duty in Iraq.
CBS
A south suburban sailor is back home and thanking strangers for taking care of his family while he was serving overseas. Earlier this year, Jeff Toll's home was battered by storms, and his family was left with a leaky roof over their head.
Operation Homefront and the local arm of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) donated thousands of dollars for the repairs back in May.
Jeff Toll found out about the project after everything had been set in motion. And thanks to satellite television and a story by CBS 2, Toll and his buddies fighting overseas got a front row seat to his home improvements.
As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports the gesture brought Toll to tears.
"(I) watched the interview and watched people on the roof and I was in tears I was absolutely in tears; all these big strong sailors and Marines, soldiers in tears watching this. They just couldn't believe it. I think I was touched that perfect strangers were on my house, absolute perfect strangers that I didn't know coming to help me in time of need, coming to help my family in time of need," Toll said.
Since Wednesday, Toll has been doing nothing but catching up with family. He says that's thanks in large part to a group of strangers who donated their time and money to fix his storm-damaged home so he wouldn't have to when he returned from the war.
After serving in Iraq, the Navy reservist couldn't be happier to be home. His family is just as excited.
Rianne Toll says she tried not to tell her husband how bad it had gotten.
"I didn't want him to have to worry about that with everything going on out there," she said.
Jeff Toll was originally only supposed to be home for 28 days on leave, but he recently found out he will not have to go back to Iraq after all. Because of that good news, and all the home improvements being done, the family is busy making some big summer plans.
Every family member has a different idea: wife, Rianne says they will be going to the cottage and Great America. Daughter Abbigayle wants to go to the mall, and son Christian has plans to go to the zoo.
Sounds like Toll will have a busy summer after all, but he says it will be the kind of busy he likes.
Click here to learn more about Operation Homefront and how you can help support our troops and their families.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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