July 20, 2017 Clifford and Gary Koekoek, 84-year-old twins who’ve survived living under Nazi occupation and fighting in the jungles […]
July 20, 2017
Clifford and Gary Koekoek, 84-year-old twins who’ve survived living under Nazi occupation and fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, are now in “hell” and sleeping in their car after a bank foreclosed on their California home in October.
They have a fascinating life story, including living in Europe during World War II, immigrating to the United States with their families and being bombed in the Vietnam War.
The pair are currently homeless in Fair Oaks, California.
In 2007, they wanted to fix the roof on a Fair Oaks home, which they say they bought from their mother. The house has been in their family since 1984.
“We took a loan thinking that we had a conventional loan,” Gary said.
The loan, however, turned out to be an adjustable rate loan, with payments getting higher over time — until the two couldn’t afford it. After their home was foreclosed, the two were kicked out and began sleeping in one shared car.
The two now spend most of their time just walking the streets and sitting at the Sacramento Public Library in neighboring Orangevale.
Aaron Hoerner, a friend of the family, is now trying to help, launching a social media push and a GoFundMe account to help find the two men permanent housing.