Dexter embraces soldier, girlfriend whose home burned

All the soldier wanted was to come home from war. But as A-Jay Irelan and his fellow Iowa National Guard members made their return journey from Afghanistan to Iowa, he learned he might not have a home to return to.
A Wednesday morning fire destroyed the two-bedroom trailer home in Dexter that Irelan, 25, shared with girlfriend Erin Richey, 33. The couple lost 10 pets - five dogs, five cats - and everything they owned.
Richey and her son Layne, 12, were not home at the time, but were left with only the clothes on their backs. Irelan, en route to Iowa from a yearlong tour of duty in Afghanistan, had only the gear stuffed in his duffel bag. That amounted to his military uniforms and two changes of civilian clothes.
But word built quickly in the Dallas County community of nearly 700. Help was on the way.
"People helped me find a house to rent," Richey said Thursday. "The church, people in town and people I don't even know have donated money to help make a deposit."Richey and Irelan grew up in Des Moines. She graduated from Roosevelt High School. He graduated from Hoover High School. They met while working at Calvin Community, a Des Moines retirement center. He worked in the kitchen. She was a nurse's assistant.They moved to Dexter with Layne about three years ago. They weren't the most well-known people in town, but when trouble arose, people came from all angles, Richey said.
"I've had people send me messages on Facebook that don't even know us saying they were going to help us do this or that for us," Richey said. "It's really been great. There are all these people from Roosevelt, my classmates and others, who are helping."
The military is pitching in, too. The National Guard offers assistance to armed services members in need. Counselors work with local charities and organizations - churches, Veterans of Foreign Wars chapters and community human services programs - to provide help in these situations.
The government also sets aside money from donors and other sources as part of the Armed Forces Relief Trust for help. The charity distributed $150 million to struggling service members in 2010.
"We will do everything possible to help in these situations," said Shalee Torrence of the Iowa National Guard, who oversees cases like Irelan's.
Richey praised the Guard's efforts on her and Irelan's behalf. The work by friends, family and strangers humbled her. She knew there would be long days ahead. She ached for her pets and longed for her boyfriend to return.
Irelan is due back in Iowa in a few days. He may well find himself in a new place and a new (or slightly used) wardrobe.
But he certainly will be able to come home.
"We're going to make it," Richey said. "It's going to be hard, but we'll get it back together."
Source http://www.desmoinesregister.com/