ONLY ON 13: WWII veteran needs help returning to Houston after San Angelo crash

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Roy Kruft served in the US Navy in WWII. He was a landing craft driver in the Pacific and delivered the Marines onto Iwo Jima for the critical battle during the later years of the war. He was trained to drive the landing craft that landed the Marines on Iwo Jima.

He came home to Waller after serving his country, and with his wife of 61 years, put their three daughters through college debt free.

"The examples that he and mother set for all three of us has had a huge impact on our lives," said his daughter, Donna Cox. "My dad is a huge patriot."

But now, the American hero is lying in a hospital bed in San Angelo after he broke his neck and back in a rollover truck accident. The only way to get him home for rehab close to the family is a specialized air ambulance.

"You don't fare too well when you're 92 years old from a rollover truck accident," said Cox. She said the family isn't looking for handouts, but the air ambulance isn't cheap.

"It will be $12,200 to fly him 55 minutes from San Angelo to Houston," she said. "But it's worth every penny to get him back here."

Once home, his daughters hope to put him into a nearby rehabilitation facility they've already picked out.

His recovery could take months.

Kruft, his daughter tells us, is no ordinary man. They want him home, where they can oversee his rehab and where they can serve him the same he served their family and our country.