Military family rescued by Rockenbach, veterans commission

Sometimes people go looking for the answer to a problem, and sometimes the answer comes looking for them.

Satyra Tyler, caring for her four children alone while her husband serves in Iraq, was recently near the end of her rope when the engine in the family car blew up.

A fully-operational 1992 Chevrolet Caprice station wagon now resides in Tyler's Round Lake Beach driveway, courtesy of a hastily-formed coalition of people who believe in what her husband is doing.

Tyler was on hand Tuesday when the Lake County Veterans Assistance Commission presented a plaque to the owners of Rockenbach Chevrolet in Grayslake for coming to the aid of a family in need.

Germaine Tyler was called up by his Army Reserve unit in January, and dispatched to Iraq for a one-year tour.

When the engine in the family car, which Satyra describes politely as “a bucket,” recently detonated, she was told it would take $3,600 to get her motor running again.

That was a tall order for someone caring for four children, ages 6 to 16, on Army pay, so she contacted her husband for advice.

Germaine Taylor did his best to come up with a solution from the other side of the planet, but things didn't move along until word eventually reached Nick Konz, of the Veterans Assistance Commission.

The commission helps families of those who served and those who are serving.

Konz said he look at the facts of the situation, and made two decisions right away.

“First, I didn't think it was right for Germaine to have to bother with this while he is trying to stay alive, so I decided we would take it from there,” Konz said.

“Secondly, I wasn't big on the idea of replacing an engine in a car, because engines only blow up in cars that have been neglected and more problems would be on the way.”

Konz and his group found $1,500 they could contribute, another $1,500 in donations from service organizations in Lake County, and the understanding ear of Rockenbach salesman Jorge Miranda.

“I am retired from the Navy, and I know what is like for the families of service people,” Miranda said. “There should never be a time when people with family in service feel they are alone.”

So with a little browsing through the inventory, a couple of conversations with his bosses and a trip into the showroom, Miranda was able to hand Satyra the keys to a car that works for the $3,000 Konz and friends had raised.

“The moral of the story is simple,” Konz said. “We are there to support the people who are defending this country, and we have a lot of people who stand with us.

“If you need something, reach out,” he said. “We will do what we can.”