World War II veteran in need of help to get his home back to a livable condition

Frederick Lonzo Sr., a 101-year-old World War II veteran, is filled with life and through his dance

A 101-year-old World War II veteran in New Orleans East is in need of help to get his home back to a livable condition.

Frederick Lonzo Sr. still dances with the energy of a young man, but his New Orleans East home tells a different story.

"The house kind of became invested with mice, and they kind of took over," said Lonzo's daughter, Leah Lonzo.

The kitchen cabinets have mouse feces inside and have been partly chewed away by the rodents.

"To see it being destroyed by mice, and it was just falling apart around them," Leah Lonzo said.

The veteran can't make the repairs himself, and his daughter, who also serves as his caretaker, said they're leaning on the community for help.

"After sleeping in this house with mice running through the house and they had eaten through his couch, and they were nesting," Leah Lonzo said.

Along with replacing the kitchen cabinets, Lonzo's fence also needs to be restored. His daughter told WDSU that it was repaired after Hurricane Katrina but knocked down again during Ida.

"Blew the whole fence down with the exception of the two outer gates — that's the only ones that's still standing," Leah Lonzo said.

Singer Naydja Cojoe, whose father is a veteran, spent Memorial Day singing to veterans, but also using her platform to raise awareness for Lonzo.

"Help them if you can. Do it. Don't just sit back and say oh somebody will get it done. You have the capability to get it done, you have the resources to do it, do it," said Cojoe.

She told WDSU she's seen the hard work being done at Lonzo's home and hopes someone steps in to help.

"They need some help. They need a refrigerator and things like that because she's his primary caregiver, and she takes care of her dad 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without any support," Cojoe said.

As his daughter works to clean up what she can, she's hoping the time her father sacrificed to serve our country is honored with a small token of help.

"The veterans have given a lot of themselves throughout their lives. It's deserving of them receiving that same thing they put out," Cojoe said.