PACE — When a young U.S. Marine received orders to move from Pace to a Texas military installation, the mother-and-son duo of Jennifer and Austin Klimek stepped up.
“I was pretty blessed to have some awesome neighbors,” said 1st Lt. Scott Sanders. “I could not have been luckier with how everything turned out.”
After living in Pace for the past year and half while taking flight training at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Sanders received orders late last month to transfer to NAS Corpus Christi.
The New Mexico native had no family members in the area to assist in the move, just a girlfriend he met in the Pace area who lacked experience in driving a large moving truck.
Transporting two vehicles with one person proved challenging. Fortunately, Sanders had neighbors he could count on.
“He found out Thursday, (May) 26 to report Friday, (June) 3 to Corpus Christi,” Jennifer said.
Seeing Sanders under pressure, the mother of four and her son, Austin, agreed to help their neighbor.
Jennifer said Sanders’ moving situation was eye opening.
“People don’t think about that side of the stresses the military goes through,” she said. “We focus so much on things that are going on overseas … we are failing to recognize that our military right next door, need our help.”
Austin was impressed with how Sanders kept a level head through it all.
“I have never seen someone handle stress so well,” he said. “I did not once see him get mad or raise his voice. Once you see someone handle stress like that, you wonder, how can I do that.”
Jennifer, an employee of Lowe’s Home Improvement in Pensacola, used vacation time to drive one of two vehicles to Texas.
She and her co-driver, Austin, transported a truck towing a smaller compact vehicle, while Sanders drove a moving van transporting another vehicle in tow.
Sanders’ girlfriend accompanied him.
The move got a late start, which led to driving overnight toward the early morning hours. The drivers also had to keep a close eye on dangerous weather conditions along the Texas route, in which portions had received damage from heavy rain and flooding.
“You could see where the water was right up to the road,” Jennifer said.
While conditions may not have been ideal, the Klimeks said they had no problem helping their neighbor — and they would do it again, regardless of the obstacles.
“I was exhausted, my eyes were bloodshot,” but it was just awesome,” Jennifer said.
Austin agreed, saying, “It was a fairly positive experience.”
Sanders showed his appreciation toward the Klimeks by paying for most of the food and lodging on the trip along with their airfare coming back to Pace.
In addition to thanking her employer for allowing her the time off, Jennifer said she appreciates the support of family and friends who helped watch over the rest of her family while she and Austin were away.
Then again, supporting the military is just what residents of the Florida panhandle do, according to Austin.
“That is why the Pensacola-Pace area is so great: it’s because they are a military town and they care,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace family helps service member with last-minute move