Hard Luck Soldier Receives Offers Of Help

(AP)  A soldier whose stored possessions were sold while he was in Iraq might never recover such treasures as family photos, but offers of help are streaming his way from strangers touched by his plight.

Patrick Rogalin, a 20-year-old Army Reserve specialist, came home in October from a year in Iraq to find that Public Storage Inc. had auctioned off his books, furniture, clothes and everything else he had stored at one of the company's sites near St. Louis.

Before shipping out, Rogalin said, he had set up automatic payments with Public Storage. But while he was in Iraq, he said, someone accessed his checking account and wrote more than $900 in worthless checks, which caused his storage payments to bounce.

Rogalin said Public Storage never told him his account was in trouble, nor that everything he owned was going to be sold.

"It's really insulting, after all I went through over there serving my country, to come back and have to deal with this," Rogalin said.

For what he valued as $8,000 worth of goods, Public Storage initially offered $2,000. On Monday, he accepted a settlement of $4,000 — but by then his story had become a national news item, via the Springfield News-Leader and later The Associated Press.

The newspaper received more than 50 calls and e-mails from people wanting to help Rogalin and, in some cases, chiding the storage company. David Holt of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., wrote, "What's a couple thousand dollars for all the bad publicity they're going to get?"

A southwest Missouri woman wants to pay for Rogalin's textbooks while he attends Missouri State University. One man offered to send him $1,000 anonymously.

And lawyers lined up to represent him for free.

Ron Ramler, general manager of the storage facility, said a confidentiality clause prevented him from talking about the settlement.

Ramler said he was well aware of the 2003 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a federal law that among other things limits the ability of businesses like Public Storage to auction service members' belongings while they are on active duty.

A Missouri law requires storage companies to send two notices — one of them certified — to customers who are in default. Rogalin said he received no such correspondence from Public Storage.

Rogalin still has his car and clothing he brought back from Iraq. His girlfriend, Jaimie Alonzo, 21, and her parents bought him clothes for Christmas.

"At least now I'm not wearing the same three things every week," Rogalin said.

Rogalin said he plans to attend Missouri State and join the university's ROTC program, so he can resume his Army career as an officer after he graduates.

[consciousnes]

Why is it that today everyone expects someone else to do things for them? When I was in the service during Vietnam, my car broke down and when I got home I had to rebuild it myself and I didn't ask someone else to do it for me or pay for it.
I agree that the storage company does owe him something, but Money? The storage company should be forced to go buy back everything that was auctioned off (for what ever it costs them) and return it pre-paid to where ever he is. I'll lay odds that the storage company has records of who bought what and how much they got paid.
Any man or woman who serves their country should be treated with more respect.
In my day it was an honor to serve and other then that, what I expected was what they were paying at that time. (My first month pay check was $32.00)

[bluestardad]

Yea Bass Pro Shops should help him. I wrote the American Legion to help get my son's car fixed while he was on his second tour in Afghanistan and I never got One of the Legion Units to help me. So I doubt if anyone in business would help they talk a good game but when it comes to show time no one helps.