Perhaps because it’s the holiday season a community in Arkansas is now helping to support Jack Milton, an army veteran they had largely ignored before he was assaulted by three young thugs earlier this month. Milton was living in a home that, according to the description below, didn’t contain much other than a mattress and a television. He didn’t even have a refrigerator. Then three scumbags decided to take the few other items that were inside, including blankets and dog food, by force.
Hot Springs Community Rallies Around Assaulted Veteran
HOT SPRINGS (KTVH) — There has been an outpouring from the Hot Springs community after an elderly veteran was beaten and robbed at his home earlier this month.
Hot Springs Police said 74-year-old Jack Milton was already living in humble conditions but was left with nothing after three men brutally beat him and took the few belongings he had.
“He’s living and sleeping on a mattress on the floor,” veteran and Arkansas Dept. of Workforce Services Veteran Representative Stephen Ezelle said.
“He’s got a TV but no cable, but he deals with the fuzziness.”
Police said on Tuesday, Dec. 11, the army veteran opened his door when three young men knocked asking for directions.
That’s when police said they forced their way into Milton’s one-room flat, brutally beating him and taking his bare necessities like blankets, his ID, and the food for his dog.
Fox 16 also reported that, “one of their weapons of choice was a tire iron. The teens also took $60 from Milton’s wallet.” What kind of animals beat an elderly man bloody with a tire iron for blankets and dog food? Did it piss them off that he only had $60 so they took everything else out of spite? Unbelievable.
“Not my veteran, it can’t be this way,” Ezelle said.
Now other fellow veterans, including Jackson House volunteer Terri Pilcher, are coming to Milton’s aid.
“Being a veteran, I think my first thought was shame on us,” Pilcher said. “As a community, as a country, we’re better than this.”
Hot Springs community members are hoping to make Milton’s flat feel like a home again by donating food, kitchenware, and clothing.
“We just need to be kind to our fellow man, and this man has not been treated kindly, and that’s a shame,” Pilcher said.
Ezelle has been coordinating the efforts to make sure he gets everything he needs.
“Since yesterday, I had been on this thing for nearly 24 hours now trying to circulate the information about getting help from all kinds of agencies,” Ezelle said.
But, Milton’s living situation is going to get better.
Hot Springs police set up an account in his name, Jack W. Milton, at Arvest Bank so people can make donations.
The non-profit organization Jackson House is also working to get him a cell phone and refrigerator. Another volunteer is going to bring him dog food whenever he needs more.
“We jump together and help out whenever anyone needs help,” resident Kim Ocker said.
Ezelle hopes to eventually help Milton move to a safer location.
But for now, he hopes the community’s support will make him feel a little bit more at ease.
“His rent is now taken care of for next month due to the giving of the Jackson House, and I’m very excited about that,” Ezelle said.
The Hot Springs Police Department is still looking for the three men responsible. If you have any information, detectives ask that you contact the Hot Springs Police Department directly.
Good for the community for coming together to help this man, but where were they before? There are countless veterans living in conditions like this, and conditions worse than this, all around the country. Why did it have to take a terrible tragedy like this to get people to notice him? We need to not ignore the plight of our veterans any longer.
Now, as for the pack of feral thugs that did this, the police say they are looking for them and are asking for the public’s help in finding them. I visited several websites that all stated the same thing but not one of them gives a description of the suspects beyond THV11 who said, “Police believe the suspects are between 17 to 20 years in age.” OK, that’s a good start but certainly Milton saw them if he was able to estimate their ages, so how about some other details like, gee, I don’t know . . . their race maybe? Give the people a little something to work with, guys.
