Video from https://abc7news.com/
SUISUN CITY, California — US Marine Corps Master Sgt. Jacinto Bernardo, who has spent 21 years in the service, came home from Okinawa to a more than pleasant surprise Tuesday, June 17.
He knew that the house he and his family had bought needed a lot of work and money to bring up to snuff. But when came home, there were flags around the house, which had been completely renovated.
“We did it for you brother, alright?” said Sgt. Bernardo’s friend, Jeremy Epperson. “We did it for you.” The heartwarming scene was captured by ABC-7News-KGO, which broadcast the original report.
The newly retired veteran was speechless while looking at a home that was completely upgraded from the one he and his family bought in January and had expected to see.
“We chose it because it was the only thing we can afford, sir,” his wife, Julie Bernardo, told KGO News.
USMC Master Sgt. Jacinto Bernardo and his surprise. Screengrab from https://abc7news.com/
Epperson, Bernardo’s old boot camp and Marine pal, who took one look at the place and deemed that no retiring Marine should return to such a mess.
He rounded up volunteers, money, and put $70,000 worth of work into the house as part of a program he’s calling Homecoming Heroes.
“Twenty one years in the Marine Corps, retiring, you don’t deserve to come back to a house where you have to spend a lot of your savings and time fixing it up,” Epperson said.
The result — new floors, new carpets, new fixtures, a new kitchen, and in the backyard a fresh new lawn.
“We’re proud of our service,” Sgt. Bernardo said. “And you know, those guys who didn’t make it back, and those guys that didn’t make it back in one piece, they deserve this not me,” said tearfully in front of the TV camera.