LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — It's been a long road for Navy Veteran Joseph Davis and his wife Samantha as they've had a journey of twists after Hurricane Ian ripped through their neighborhood in Florida.
After everything that has happened, there was one more thing waiting for them when their plane landed in Luzerne County.
It was all hugs from mom when Navy Veteran Joseph Davis, originally from Moosic, walked through the arrival gate at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
But it wasn't a planned visit. Davis's home in Cape Coral, Florida, was one of the thousands hit last week by Hurricane Ian, leaving him and his wife with no power, no water, and no fresh food.
"We used up all our resources, and we had just enough fuel to evacuate the Fort Myers area," said Joseph Davis, Navy Veteran.
"We haven't lived there for a super long time, so when we would hear it over the crank radio or the car 'hey there's gasoline off Summerland and Racetrack' like where is that, my GPS doesn't work I can't type into my GPS," said Samantha Davis.
They made the decision to come to Northeast Pennsylvania to stay with Joseph's mother for a while.
"We ran out of money, and you can't pull out any kind of cash, so basically, if you don't ration your gas, you can't evacuate," said Joseph.
Joseph's mother bought plane tickets for him and his wife. She also contacted Veterans Promise. The non-profit based in Dickson City stepped in to help one of their own.
"We have a hardship grant program at Veterans Promise, and we had a veteran that was from our area originally lived in Florida had some shortcoming in Florida due to the storm had to come back to NEPA, his mom reached out to us, and we did what we are supposed to do," said David Ragan, President of Veterans Promise.
Veterans Promise gave Joseph a check for $1,000, along with a dog tag that will remind them that they are not alone as they begin to rebuild.
"It's extremely touching because now I know I can go home and buy groceries. I know that I can go home and pay some of my bills because that doesn't stop," said Samantha.
"This has been a morale booster for me, and these guys are great," said Joseph.
After some much-needed rest here in our area, the Davises plan to return to Florida to rebuild their lives after the destruction left behind by Hurricane Ian.
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