Apartment Complex Evicts Vietnam Veteran While He's In The Hospital

Residents at Canterbury Apartments in South Carolina are not happy after learning that one of their neighbors, a 75-year-old Vietnam War veteran, was evicted while he was in the hospital after suffering a heart attack. To make matters worse, the man's possessions were dumped in the parking lot where people rummaged through them.

One of his neighbors, Kevin Riera, shared photos of the man's belongings strewn out across the parking area and explained what happened in a viral Facebook post.

"My neighbor Tom is a 75 year old Marine Corps Master Sergeant Viet Nam veteran with war related injuries and decorations and this is how my neighborhood is doing him," Reira wrote.

"He falls behind on rent a few weeks and then has a heart attack, and while he is being rushed out of his apartment on a stretcher by paramedics the apartment finds it a perfect time to serve him an eviction notice."

The War Veterans of America Motorcycle Club heard about what happened and managed to recover some of Tom's personal documents before they were stolen or damaged. They did not find his Purple Heart and hope that whoever took it will do the right thing and return it.

"If it's you and you ransacked through his stuff, karma is going to come," Christopher Trinemeyer, who works with Operation Veteran Reintegration, told WPDE-TV. "You're pretty low. You're going to go through somebody's stuff. I mean, you're no different than a thief."

Operation Veteran Reintegration booked a hotel room for Tom, who was found wandering the streets after he was released from the hospital.

Reira says that Tom is going to be reunited with his family and will get the help he needs. He created a GoFundMe page to help Tom cover the cost of moving and replacing his personal belongings.