Stranded Soldier rescued via Facebook

Air Force Staff Sergeant Rowan Coash was driving down from Washington towards Texas to report for duty when, suddenly, his car broke down. He was stranded on a highway outside of Price, Utah – 1,000 miles from where he needed to be.

Coash contacted his friend Erica to tell her what had happened. And Erica took to social media, posting on her Facebook:

“Anybody out there in Facebook land near Price, UT and willing to help a soldier?”

As Coash’s car was being towed and taken to a mechanic, hundreds of people were sharing Erica’s post.  A “Good Samaritan” in Price saw the post and helped arrange a rental truck to get Coash back on the road.  In addition, she offered her garage to store his car until it could be fixed.

The mechanic’s diagnosis: Coash’s car needed a new motor and about $3,500 in repairs, which would have taken anywhere from six to ten days.  The other issue was if Coash did not report in Texas in two days, he would be deemed AWOL. But he didn’t have the money to take care of the repairs.

Luckily, a veteran in Price was paying attention to the story being shared online and posted on his Facebook:

“Does anyone know a good mechanic that would be willing to do a solid for an American hero…?”

The post caught the attention of another mechanic, and he offered to take a look. The shop took care of the repairs at no cost to Coash.  He made it to base on time and even got his car shipped back to him at no charge.

I can’t think of a better way to give back to the servicemen and servicewomen who sacrifice so much for us.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/149061-staff-sergeant-gets-stranded-facebook-post-creates-one-extraordinary-ripple-effect/