No More Home to Come Back to :-(((

The Fresno Bee ^ | 11/11/04 | By Charles McCarthy / The Fresno Bee

[JusticeTalion]

Soldier is back in the U.S. on leave after his Chowchilla house burns.

Terry Hitchcock, a soldier stationed in Iraq, is home in Chowchilla on emergency leave to deal with the aftermath of his family's house fire. He hugs his 8-year-old son, Brandon, in the doorway of the burned home under a flag sign yellowed from the fire.

Taking emergency leave from Iraq to return to a fire-gutted house in Chowchilla wasn't the happiest homecoming for Army Spec. Terry Hitchcock, but he and his family were thankful to be together Wednesday.

"I just want to take care of my family and get them settled somewhere," said Hitchcock, 42.

He must return to action Nov. 23, giving him only a brief time to find a new home and help his wife and children find new clothing and furniture. After that, he'll be gone until at least February.

The fire that caused $80,000 in damage started in an electrical plug or cord, fire investigators told the Hitchcocks. The family had no renters insurance and lost nearly all their belongings.

[Heart of Georgia]

Thanks for the ping. I'll be in prayer for this family.

Praise the Lord his family is okay, but still, what a terrible thing for this soldier to have to come home to.

[agrace]

bump

[Salvation]

Bump for helping this family.

[DoughtyOne]

If we're going to contribute to something, I'd like to contribute towards a vacant lot that 'Extreme Makeovers' could build on. Of course that's if they'd sign on to the project.

D1

P.S. Otherwise I like your 'stuff' post.

[blu]

Good job!

[Sea2ShiningSea]

Prayers sent.

[najida]

Agreed....

The show does great things for very deserving families.

[najida]

Agreed....

The show does great things for very deserving families.

[Jim Robinson]

A soldier and his family in Chowchilla in need of support.

[austingirl]

Prayers sent.

[notpoliticallycorewrecked]

Wrong! The first family to recieve an extreme makeover was a family that had the father over in Iraq. They faked the family out and had the Dad sent home to supervise the makeover. The Dad shoed himself in the backyard in a catcher outfit. The makeover included a baseball theme for the backyard since the 3 boys were into baseball.

There wasn't a dry eye in the place.

[Mama_Bear]

Thanks for the ping, Jim. I heard about this family on the news the other night. Very sad.

[add925]

You missed my post #28.

Maybe ABC really IS changing their stripes? Maybe. I'll watch Peter Jennings tonight & find out.

[Enterprise]

Thanks for the ping Jim.

[notpoliticallycorewrecked]

Sorry, I didn't see that until after my post.

It would be cool to have them build a house if we could come up the $$ for the land. While I'm sure that it has gone up recently, the land in Chowchilla is relatively inexpensive compared to most of California.

[BienHoa69-70 RVN]

If you have a paypal account you can send money to kim whatley at kimwhatley@yahoo.com and she will make sure that the Hitchcocks get it. She is one of the girl's teachers. Her phone number is 559-665-9591.

[semaj]

His wife is seeking donations of a used computer so that she can correspond with her husband when he re-deploys back to Iraq. I am willing to offer her free Internet Access through my small ISP in Madera if someone can get her a computer.

[JusticeTalion]

Thank you all for your outpouring of love and compassion. I do not know the family but I read it in my morning's paper. While due to financial problems I cannot personally contribute I feel that I have done something positive by sharing it with others who can. God bless you all.

Justice Talion

God bless our troops wherever they may be.

[spodefly]

BTTT

[BienHoa69-70 RVN]

I just spoke with Kim Whatley again and she said she was advised to not have money sent to her through pay pal. A trust account is being set up for the Hitchcocks and she will provide additional info for those who wish to donate.