When Master Sergeant Jacinto Bernado returned to California last week after years of being stationed abroad, he was looking forward to settling into his new home.
The Iraq veteran bought the house last January in anticipation of his retirement after 21 years of service in the US Marine Corps . The house needed a lot of work but it was all he and his wife Julie could afford.
While he was stationed in Japan, Bernado had asked his old Marine buddy, Jeremy Epperson, to keep an eye on his new house until they moved back.
But when Bernado and Julie did come home, the house was looking
different.While they were a way, Epperson decided to do something about his friend’s new house because, as he said, “no retiring Marine should return to such a mess”.
Jeremy got some volunteers together and, thanks to the help of the charity Homecoming Heroes, they raised around $70,000 in cash and donated supplies. Together, they completely renovated Bernado’s house - new kitchen, garden, floors and carpets.
Bernado and Julie were treated to a limo ride from the airport to their new home and the welcome-home surprise of their lives.