It wasn’t the first time Charles Kimbrough, a Desert Storm veteran, was asked to join a veterans group. He’d always declined those invites, but when he met Bill Twombly, a member of American Legion Post 257 in Collegedale, while eating at a restaurant on Veterans Day, he felt a connection with the Vietnam veteran and his family, and decided to join the group.
When heavy rain caused a wall in Kimbrough’s basement to collapse a little over a month later, that chance connection with Twombly seemed heaven-sent.
The Kimbroughs take their last family photo in their living room, located directly above their basement, before one of their basement walls collapses Dec. 28 due to heavy rain. From left are Jeremy, Jaida, Lya, Dwanna and Charles Kimbrough. / Photo contributed by Charles KimbroughHis fellow Legionnaires immediately set to work digging a drainage ditch to divert the water.
A structural engineer evaluated the damage, which was estimated between $25,000 and $35,000 – not including the furniture and Kimbrough’s computer workstation, as well as the priceless collection of family photos contained on a shelf against the wall of the finished basement, which served as the family room.
The city deemed the house unsafe and considered it condemned.