Blind Vietnam Vet Who Still Mows Lawn & Cooks Receives New Roof

Despite being almost completely blind, Vietnam War veteran and Bristol Township resident Joe Crespo, with support from his wife Elsie, doesn’t let anything hold him back.

Blinded after being shot three times in Vietnam in July 1969, Joe Crespo still cooks dinner (he is said to cook a mean batch of ribs), mows the lawn of his home in Fairless Hills and jogs four miles as part of his 1.5 hour daily workout.

The one thing Joe Crespo, a retired Fairmont Park Commission employee, needed help with – a new roof on his home in the 500 block of Buck Drive.

That’s where Abe Brooks, a Bristol Township native and current Langhorne resident, and his company come in. Brooks owns and operates A. Brooks’ Construction and Kanga Roofing.

When Brooks and his crew at Kanga learned of the Crespos’ need for a new roof, they stepped up. Work began on Monday and was completed by a team of Kanga employees by Tuesday morning.

Brooks said the roof was in bad shape and needed a full replacement. Showing a pieces of the roof, he showed damage caused by water and different elements.

The full replacement of the Crespos’ roof is part of Kanga Roofing’s annual roof giveaway for veterans, which has been going on for several years along with a holiday roof giveaway.

“We look for some one who is really in need of a new roof,” Brooks told LevittownNow.com. “Right here, he (Crespo) fits the definition of being a hero.”

The Crespos were nominated by Lawrence Breault, their Buck Drive neighbor. In a nomination letter to Kanga Roofing, Breault wrote his “remarkable” neighbor needed a new roof and the damage was beginning to become noticeable.

When work began on Monday, Elsie Crespo said she would finally be able to sleep and not have to worry about their damaged roof. “I’m just in awe that we are getting this roof,” she said.

Joe Crespo, who uses walking sticks and wears dark glasses due to his sight, said he was ecstatic when he heard about the new roof, all at no cost to the retired couple who love to spend time with their two children and eight grandkids.

Joe Crespo grew up in the Kennsington section of Philadelphia and joined the Marines in June 1968 after working at a theater across from a recruiting center.

“I really have to say I was motivated by John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s famous speech,” he recalled. “You know it: ‘ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.’”

Joe Crespo said after being shot in Vietnam, he spent 3 months in a coma and 10 additional months in hospitals.

“To this day, I still get treatment for those injuries, and I have PTSD and nightmares.”

Returning stateside with a plate in his head, limited sight, mental trauma from the war and a damaged ear drum, Joseph Crespo and his future wife began dating after years of being acquaintances.

“When I was young, I was like all young punks,” Joe Crespo said while chuckling. “I had a few girlfriends. But when I came back all screwed up, she (Elsie) was the only one who could clean my wounds.”

Elsie Crespo smiled as her husband of 40 years recalled their time together.

She then spoke highly of his determination to battle his setbacks.

“Joe is a really amazing guy,” Brooks said. “His story is so amazing. It shows why he is a hero.”

“If my doctors told me I couldn’t do something, I was going to it anyway,” Joe Crespo said.

One of the first things he did as he became well enough to leave the hospital, go to college and earn a bachelor’s degree.

Joe Crespo said while his injuries and the horror of the war still haunt him, he never let it slow him down.

Due to the roof work, his regular Tuesday Tyler State Park four-mile jog in Newtown had to be scraped.

“I guess I’ll just do it downstairs on the machine,” he said.

“He’s determined. I can’t keep up with him,” Elsie Crespo said with a smile.

Kanga Roofing Marketing Manager Sal Caimano said nominations for future roof giveaways can found on their website or by calling 215-752-6145.