thedrifter
01-13-08, 09:58 PM
Groups fix disabled Marines' home
BY JENNIFER LOVELL, SUN STAFF WRITER
January 13, 2008 - 8:44PM
Extreme Makeover, military style, is taking place in Yuma, thanks to two Yuma armed-forces organizations.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Yuma Chapter 433, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Association are renovating the Yuma home of two disabled Marines, a husband and wife who previously lived in Yuma.
Eric and Krista Kimbrow, who retired from the military because of their disabilities, moved to Abilene, Texas, to be with family, leaving behind a home on 21st Street that later fell into disrepair, said Michael Jones, commander of the Purple Heart order and vice president of the airborne brigade association.
The Kimbrows learned the needed renovations would cost them thousands of dollars, which would only add to the troubles caused by their disabilities.
Enter Michael Jones, who with his wife, Margaret, enlisted members of the two organizations as volunteers to repair the house.
Jones said every room needed a complete renovation, and thousands of hours of donated labor have been put into the house since in work began in September.
Jones said he was compelled to help because the Kimbrows are a couple who tugged at his heart. "They are unusual people (and) they are kind of the hallmark of the young crowd. They were so proud to be Marines. I mean, it is just so overwhelming."
Both Eric and Krista grew up wanting to be Marines.
Eric used to be a Marine scout sniper. But in 1998, he was given an experimental anthrax vaccine, which he said weakened his vascular membrane - the tissue that makes up the blood vessels - and caused symptoms including migraines and a stroke.
He retired in 2000 and then moved to Yuma to be with Krista, whom he had met years earlier in the Marine Corps.
Krista was a helicopter air crew member and mechanic who also was a triathlete competing in swimming, weightlifting and running. But then she found out she was suffering from fibromylagia in 2002, at a time she was assigned at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. She retired that year.
Both had planned to stay in the Marines until retirement.
"I have wanted to serve my country since I was 15," said Krista. "It was hard to face the fact that we would not be able to do what we used to do."
The two got married in 2007 at the Yuma Armed Forces Park.
Now that they have moved back to Texas, the Kimbrows plan to sell the Yuma home once it has been refurbished.
"I never knew such selflessness and compassion existed in human beings," Krista said of the Yuma volunteers. "I've met these guys and they were just extraordinary men."
With all they've gone through, Eric and Krista are not bitter about their illnesses or being forced to leave the military.
"We are not in the same shape but we are the same size," said Krista.
Eric added, "Even though the times and rules change, honor, valor and the commitment of the Marine Corps don't change."
The Kimbrows also have gone one step further and created business cards that read "God Bless the U.S. Marines," Krista said.
The Kimbrows "are the embodiment of what you think is a patriot" said Jones.
Ellie
BY JENNIFER LOVELL, SUN STAFF WRITER
January 13, 2008 - 8:44PM
Extreme Makeover, military style, is taking place in Yuma, thanks to two Yuma armed-forces organizations.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Yuma Chapter 433, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Association are renovating the Yuma home of two disabled Marines, a husband and wife who previously lived in Yuma.
Eric and Krista Kimbrow, who retired from the military because of their disabilities, moved to Abilene, Texas, to be with family, leaving behind a home on 21st Street that later fell into disrepair, said Michael Jones, commander of the Purple Heart order and vice president of the airborne brigade association.
The Kimbrows learned the needed renovations would cost them thousands of dollars, which would only add to the troubles caused by their disabilities.
Enter Michael Jones, who with his wife, Margaret, enlisted members of the two organizations as volunteers to repair the house.
Jones said every room needed a complete renovation, and thousands of hours of donated labor have been put into the house since in work began in September.
Jones said he was compelled to help because the Kimbrows are a couple who tugged at his heart. "They are unusual people (and) they are kind of the hallmark of the young crowd. They were so proud to be Marines. I mean, it is just so overwhelming."
Both Eric and Krista grew up wanting to be Marines.
Eric used to be a Marine scout sniper. But in 1998, he was given an experimental anthrax vaccine, which he said weakened his vascular membrane - the tissue that makes up the blood vessels - and caused symptoms including migraines and a stroke.
He retired in 2000 and then moved to Yuma to be with Krista, whom he had met years earlier in the Marine Corps.
Krista was a helicopter air crew member and mechanic who also was a triathlete competing in swimming, weightlifting and running. But then she found out she was suffering from fibromylagia in 2002, at a time she was assigned at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. She retired that year.
Both had planned to stay in the Marines until retirement.
"I have wanted to serve my country since I was 15," said Krista. "It was hard to face the fact that we would not be able to do what we used to do."
The two got married in 2007 at the Yuma Armed Forces Park.
Now that they have moved back to Texas, the Kimbrows plan to sell the Yuma home once it has been refurbished.
"I never knew such selflessness and compassion existed in human beings," Krista said of the Yuma volunteers. "I've met these guys and they were just extraordinary men."
With all they've gone through, Eric and Krista are not bitter about their illnesses or being forced to leave the military.
"We are not in the same shape but we are the same size," said Krista.
Eric added, "Even though the times and rules change, honor, valor and the commitment of the Marine Corps don't change."
The Kimbrows also have gone one step further and created business cards that read "God Bless the U.S. Marines," Krista said.
The Kimbrows "are the embodiment of what you think is a patriot" said Jones.
Ellie