Community rallies to help vet forced to sell his Army medal

Bill Shephard had run out of options offline, so he took his last chance to eBay. The Iraq war vet had exhausted his unemployment benefits, couldn't find a job despite earning a college degree, and still had a wife and three kids to support. So he put his Army Achievement Medal up for auction in the hope that he could raise money for the fledgling landscaping business he started. It wasn't looking good at first: No one pressed the "place bid" button until a Philly-area TV station sought Shephard out to share his story. Then donations and offers to assist the family poured into the station, including one man who offered up a new commercial lawnmower. The medal sold on Thursday for $5,200.