VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — It has been home sweet home this summer for Vietnam veteran John Crockett, who spent six years, three months and 12 days serving the United States. But about three months ago, a storm put that in doubt.
The retired Marine lives in the ranch-style home his parents built in the tree-lined streets of King’s Forest in Virginia Beach. On the night of April 4, a weather cell blew through the neighborhood. It wasn’t much of a newsmaker in Hampton Roads, but it was enough to awaken the retired Marine.
A White Oak tree, which he had recently inspected, fell in his backyard and landed on his home. The thunderous crash shook the neighbor’s house, two doors down, and for Crockett, it brought back memories of the war in Southeast Asia.
“A bomb going off,” Crockett said with tears in his eyes. “I’m an old Vietnam vet and that’s what it sounded like.”
In a sense, it was much like in the jungles of Vietnam — an enemy Crockett could not see. In this case, it was the rotten roots of a white oak that caused a crash that could have killed him.
“Well, the tree went through here,” Crockett said. “It was just probably about a foot from the flue. And it went all the way through the hall and through the garage. which caved in all the roof. It blew the walls out and the top of the tree was down next to the property below the house.”
After four months of living in a hotel, the 75-year-old Marine beams with pride in reviewing the restoration of his home and his vintage motorcycles, which survived without a scratch.
Residents on Crockett’s block say that, in the past five years, trees have fallen and damaged five homes. Crockett wonders if the salt water from a creek behind his home is a factor.
“That’s the only thing I can figure out,” Crockett said. “It’s caused them [the roots] to die.”
The crew that removed Crockett’s damaged white oak this spring told 10 On Your Side that, if there are questions about the health of a tree, owners should call in a professional for an assessment.
Crockett, who is fiercely independent, looks forward to improving the flower beds around his home, and he’s happy to be back home in time for the height of summer.
“Yeah, we had a lot to do to … try to get [our] life back together,” he said. “I’m working on it, slowly, but surely.”