Eighty-two-year-old John Bohanek sits at his cluttered dinette table on Pine Island, a droplet of sweat running down the side of his nose. A pair of muddied boots rests on two boxes of Meals-Ready-to-Eat in a FEMA trailer in Bokeelia.

The refrigerator is stocked with frozen pot pies and papered with reminders for doctor appointments, phone numbers and directions written in huge block letters.

As he pushes open the screen door and steps outside, he has a warning for visitors: “There’s broken glass here, watch your step."

The army veteran has spent three years in a trailer — the last two a FEMA version — with limited power and water after his home was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. He’s waiting for the final property assessment he needs to begin rebuilding, but that can’t happen until the government reopens.

For the past 25 years, Bohanek’s home stood two stories tall on stilts. It survived a number of hurricanes. But Ian, in September, 2022, was the undoing.

“All of a sudden, the roof was lifting up, and I could see daylight. I said ‘Oh, shoot.’ I went and I gathered all my grandkids pictures up, and I took them in the back bedroom,” Bohanek said. “It wasn't scary. I was just a little upset. All my stuff's getting wrecked, and nothing you can do about it. I lost just about everything I owned.”

All that remains today is a sparse plot of white sand littered with rusted septic tanks, a laundry machine and gas cans.

The fishponds he tended so carefully for years, now are carpeted with foamy algae. Squares of splintered plywood form a walkway from the dirt road to the shuttered trailer.

In the mornings Bohanek washes his clothes in the sink and hangs them on a line outside to dry.

He enlisted in the Army right out of high school at age 17, and served in Berlin, Germany, and at bases across the United States.

After retiring to Bokeelia he became a Pine Island celebrity, according to Beacon of Hope Executive Director Nancy Cote.

Her nonprofit organization provides aid for the community with programs like Beacon Bites, which delivers daily meals to 24 seniors, including Bohanek. Cote has been working with him for three years.

“This is what it looks like when people don't take into account that somebody's name on a piece of paper is a human,” Cote said. “He's a human. He's a veteran. He doesn't deserve to live like this.”

She described Bohanek’s involvement with the Pine Island community. Before becoming legally blind, he would arrive early to local events to set up chairs and greet people. Now he takes Beacon of Hope’s Beacon Buggy transportation service to doctor appointments.

Cote said he always asks to be picked up first so he can chat with other riders throughout the day.

After Ian, Bohanek said he received loans from FEMA and the Small Business Administration. He used the money to replace clothes and furniture, begin reconstruction efforts and finish demolishing his home.

Bohanek’s son Michael helped him fill out and notarize forms from his home in Illinois. He co-signed for loans with his father, who did not qualify while living on Social Security.

Initial plans with a contractor were derailed when Michael Bohanek had a stroke and the project was scrapped. Bonahek says he’s been unable to get money back from contractors.

LeeCares offered a light at the end of the three-year tunnel when Bohanek said he was approved for their housing recovery program.

“The last step before he gets a house built by LeeCares is to have an inspection of his property by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency),” Cote said. “But because of the government shutdown, it could take six months for somebody to get out here.”

Cote said construction should begin on a replacement home after the final inspection, paid for in full by LeeCares.

When asked why he stays in Pine Island instead of moving closer to his son in Illinois, Bohanek teared up. He offered a tour of his land, pointing out favorite ferns and where goldfish used to live.

“I have an acre and a quarter,” he said. "I had orchids growing all over the place. You sit here at night… you just hear the crickets cricking, the frogs chirping, it’s just, it’s paradise. I can’t ask for more.”

After three years in a trailer, getting a new home finally is in reach for Bohanek.

But only when the government begins operation again. Until then, this veteran is still waiting.

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