WWII Marine Vet Loses Everything in House Fire

Last week, our dear neighbor Paul Roberts had a terrible fire in his house. He lost everything. Paul is a 94 year old WWII U.S. Marine Corp Veteran and retired mailman. The night of Monday, March 14th, Paul was getting ready for bed. He had taken a shower and was shaving in the bathroom when he noticed smoke coming through the cracks of the door. He opened the door and saw black. He thought the lights went out. He took one breath in and realized it was a fire, so he dropped to the floor and crawled out the back door. He ran across the street to my house and banged on the window. I called 911, ran over, and saw the fire in the bedroom, but it was too late to put out the fire. We waited for the police and fire department to arrive, and the only thing that was salvaged were some photo albums. They were his only belongings that were saved.

 

At 94, Paul knows he only has a short time left with us. He was hoping he could stay in his home until his death, as he has been a staple here in Ship Bottom for over 50 years. With the rising cost of Property taxes, he was barely able to pay his tax bill with his pension. He survived Covid in March 2021, probably because of all the walking he did as a mailman (see more of his story below). Paul would like to be able to end his time here on earth in his favorite place. He had insurance, but because the house was so old, most of the construction was out of code. Within three days the town notified him that he must have the house torn down. We are hoping with crowd source funding, we can give him the resources to help him in rebuilding a new house.

 

Paul is one of the most positive people we have ever and will ever meet. He says, “Well, I wake up every morning, I can either be happy or not. I might as well decide to be happy.” Still, after having his house destroyed, he has a smile on his face. Paul is a truly humble, independent, wonderful person, but for the first time in his life, he needs the help and support of those around him. We are asking that you donate whatever you can, even just a dollar, to help our dear friend. More importantly, whether or not you are not able to donate, we are asking that you share this story with all of your friends and family. Thank you very much for your time.

 

A little bit of Paul’s amazing story:

 

He was born in 1927 in Haddonfield, NJ during the Great Depression. Paul is the last of four children, with two sisters and one brother. He was on the track and football teams in high school, and competed in Penn Relay races in the early 1940s. On December 7th, 1941, he and his family went to visit his brother Bill in Quantico, VA of the U.S. Marine Corps. At the time, they did not know that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. After the war started, his brother was sent to Pearl Harbor to help in the fight. His sister Marion joined the WAAC’s, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, to serve her country. When Paul was 17 years old, a junior in high school, he asked his mother to sign him out of school so he could join the Marines. His family then became the first Three Star family on Lee Alley.

 

Paul thankfully (although he was disappointed at the time) never fought, as the war ended just before he graduated Boot Camp. He was sent to Japan, where he was put in charge of the fuel depot at ground zero of the Nagasaki bomb sight. After he was discharged, Paul joined the post office. He often helped his father paint houses after work to help raise his own family. His father was a handyman and caretaker for a summer home of one of his Haddonfield neighbors, the Clements. They would eventually sell the house to his father, and Paul and his family spent all of their summers in Ship Bottom. The house was built in 1920, and in 1980 was labeled a Historic Ship Bottom Home.

 

Paul inherited the house and moved in when he retired in 1986, after winterizing the house. Since then, he has enjoyed a healthy life, taking long walks, boating and fishing with friends. In 2007 after Hurricane Sandy, after his house was completely flooded, he lost his daughter Joan to a rare disease called Sarcoidosis. He had previously lost his son Mark. Yet through all this loss, Paul did not give up. He had his humble home restored, and as a 94 year old he still walks one mile every day. When it’s not too windy he rides his bike two miles to Sunset Point on West 13th Street. Paul has a daughter, granddaughter and husband, and great grandson, all of whom mean the world to him.