Andrews Airmen help out a fellow veteran

Photos/Bobby Jones

Tech. Sgt. Kwame Opoku, left, 11th Civil Engineer Squadron electrical systems craftsman, shines a flashlight on a ceiling fan for Staff Sgt. Erick Rodriquez, 11 CES electrical systems craftsman, as rewires the lighting.

Joint Base Andrews 11th Civil Engineer Squadron has a long history of supporting humanitarian efforts in the Prince Georges County community.

On April 26, the unit loaned their technical skills to fix up a home as part of the 26th Christmas in April Day Anniversary event.

The recipient was retired Army Col. James Simpson, a veteran with 30 years of service whos home fell into disrepair due to his failing health.

Simpson was elated at the bee hive of activity going on inside and outside of his 40-year-old home.

This was a surprise to me, said Simpson, a Hillcrest Heights resident. I dont know how my daughters got in touch with these people, said Simpson, as he sat in his living room chair listening to music from the radio. But theyre doing a wonderful job. While I was in the service, I travelled so much I wasnt home enough to tend to the house, and my wife wasnt well enough to do it, said Simpson, who wife was bed ridden during the renovation.

The contingent of volunteers could be seen everywhere; atop the roof applying gutter guards, replacing old windows with new ones, scraping paint from the underside of the porch soffit, painting window seals, mulching, digging holes for Azalea bushes, to beautify the backyard, carrying bags of refuge from the house to a 30-yard metal dumpster, sanding cast iron porch rails and building a wheel chair ramp from scratch.

The Simpsons also received a newly retiled basement floor, new electrical outlets, rewired ceiling fan, replacement smoke detector, Asbestos abatement and installation of new pipes and fittings for a water heater.

Simpson would periodically walk around his home, helping the volunteers with trash disposal or anywhere else he could lend a helpful hand. Im glad my daughters found these people to work on our home. While I was serving, I was away more than I was at home, said the 85-year-old veteran.

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Andrews Airmen help out a fellow veteran