Homeless veteran surprised with new car

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - One Army veteran says he was nearly homeless after falling on some hard times and losing his house.

Larry Abrams joined Quad Vets in Hammond, and they helped him get back on his feet. They partnered with Racin 4 Vets to gift Abram with a car to help him get back and forth to his new job.

“There are no words that say how I feel right now but I know it’s a joy and it’s going to be alright and a merrier Christmas for me, my wife and my family,” Abrams said.

Abrams is working at his new job as a receptionist which is much different from some of his previous work.

“I was drafted May 14th 72. I took basic at fort Polk Louisiana,” Abrams said. “From day one of boot camp I was made squad leader.”

Abrams would later move on to serve as military police for several years.

“That’s what I wanted to be if I ever went into the military was a military police officer,” Abrams said.

The Army veteran says civilian life after the military was much different, yet he managed to find work and have a family. But a few years ago, that all changed.

“My wife and I were separated and I was practically on the streets,” Abrams said.

Abrams says that he was able to fix things with his wife and found a new place to live after finishing the program. Now, he will also have reliable transportation. However, there is something special about the car he received.

“This is in honor of our great nephew who is a Marine and came back from a deployment in Israel and had PTSD. So, it’s in honor of him,” said Jeannie Achord.

The car belonged to Dylan Achord who also served in the Army. Sadly, he passed away two years ago, but his family held on to many of his possessions, including his car. They found peace in keeping Dylan’s service to this country alive by helping another veteran.

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