On April 18, a mobile home was destroyed in an electrical fire from a dryer. It was the residence of Dylan Walters, Rebekah Frisbee and their son Colton.

Not only was their entire home and all the contents lost, but two dogs also perished in the blaze.

Dylan’s grandfather is Jonathan Emmick of Ellington. Both he and his brother Roger Emmick are Navy Vietnam veterans and Life Members of Greater Absecon Island VFW Post 215 of Ventnor, N.J., as was their father, the late Walter Emmick Jr., a World War II veteran.

Roger lives in Somers Point, N.J. and served as Chaplain, Junior Vice Commander, Quartermaster for 12 years, and finally Commander of VFW Post 215.

Pictured from left: Rebekah Frisbee, Dylan Walters, their son Colton Walters, and Jonathan Emmick. They are holding a $10,000 check from VFW 215 in Vendor, NJ, after Rebekah and Dylan lost their home in Ellington and all their belongings in a fire in April.

Jon served on the USS America off the coast of Vietnam, and Roger was a Hospital Corpsman, serving at the Naval Hospital located in Da Nang, Vietnam.

After the Ellington fire, Jon talked to his brother to see if Post 215 would be able to help. Fundraising got off to a slow start but at a meeting of Post 215, Roger made a motion to donate $5,000 for Dylan and Rebekah to either build or purchase another home. That motion was amended by another member to enhance the donation to $10,000. The motion unanimously passed.

The meeting that night was a joint meeting along with the Post’s Auxiliary members who also passed a motion to donate $1,000 to the effort.

Jon thanked the members of Post 215 for their generosity. “No one does more for veterans or their families,” he said.

VFW Post 215 does a lot to help those in need. The month before, the Post donated $6,000 to a local U.S. Army veteran who had a significant problem with asbestos in his home which required a loan to cover cleanup and lodging expenses.

VFW Post 215 is also involved in the local schools with essay contests and scholarships and many other charitable endeavors. The torch has recently been passed from Vietnam veterans to younger veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Dylan, Rebekah and Colton are currently living with family members as they look to purchase a house. They were told that because of the shale rock on their property, they can’t place a new mobile home there.