Good Samaritan offers her home to displaced Illinois state trooper and his family

"The story has not been the wind. The story is what's happened since the wind. The story is the responses of the community and people surrounding this community," Illinois state trooper Miles Walsh said of the generosity he experienced after a tornado destroyed his home.

On the morning of November 17, a deadly tornado ripped through Washington, Illinois, reducing the Walsh family home to rubble.

Walsh and his 8-year-old son bunkered down in the basement as the winds tore their house apart. His wife and 12-year-old daughter were at church, unaware of the devastation until they made their way home.

"We couldn’t find our house. We couldn't find our street," Barbara Walsh told the Chicago Sun-Times. "The signs, the landmarks — they were all gone."

After a tearful family reunion, Walsh turned his focus to helping others in need.

"I got back on the radio, and told the folks at post that I was gonna’ start searching through the homes for injured folks and make sure everybody was accounted for," he told WMBD 31 News.

At the end of the day, however, his family had no place to stay. With so many of his neighbours seeking shelter as well, Walsh was sure he wouldn't be able to find safe haven nearby.

Fortunately, a kind neighbour texted a friend about Walsh's situation. Within minutes, a woman Walsh had never met was calling him, offering her mother's home to a family in need.

"Her 73-year-old mother was going to move in with her so that someone who is without a home could move into her home so they could have a roof over their head," he told WMBD 31 News.

"That's ultimately what I'm thankful for," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "The people in this town have come together in a way that I never could have predicted or expected. Washington's a special place."

The Illinois State Police also gave Walsh and his family $8,000 to help them get through this trying time.

The Walsh family plans to rebuild on the same site in March.