Sen. Rand Paul presents a replacement Army Achievement Medal to veteran Eddie Williams of London on Friday at Paul's Bowling Green office. William's lost his medals after a tornado destroyed his eastern Kentucky home in March of this year. (Photo by Miranda Pederson/Daily News)

Retired Sgt. 1st Class Eddie Williams and his family lost everything when a tornado carried away their London home March 2.

“It just picked it up and took it across the road,” Williams said.

 But on Friday, they got back a little portion of what was lost, as he was presented with medals to replace those he lost during the disaster.

Williams and his family traveled to the office of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Bowling Green Republican, so the senator could present the medals to him.

Paul told Williams and his family that he remembers touring the devastation in eastern Kentucky after tornados hit in March.

“This is a neat service we can do,” he said. “We’re proud of the fact that we can give these medals back that have been lost, and it happens more often than you think, but not often so dramatically with a tornado.”

Paul presented Williams with the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with double Bronze Star attachment, the 1960 Bar with the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon and the Expert Marksmanship Badge and Auto Rifle Bar.

Williams served in the military for about 20 years and served his first tour of duty in Vietnam.

Paul thanked Williams for his service and joked with him after the medals were presented.

“What I really want to know is, are you still a good shot?” Paul asked.

Williams owns guns and does hunt, though he said several of his guns were either damaged or lost in the storm.

Williams’ wife, Tatjana Williams, 54, said that when the tornado hit, it made “the weirdest sound I ever heard,” and soon after came a realization that almost all their possessions were likely gone.

“Just in a few seconds you realize everything you worked for, he worked for, all his life is gone,” she said.

Tatjana Williams accompanied Eddie Williams to the ceremony along with daughters Sheila Williams, 35, and Jenniffer Williams, 31.

Both daughters were at work during the storm, and Eddie and Tatjana Williams took shelter at the home of his aunt during the tornado.

Sheila Williams said the storm hit not long after she would normally have been coming home from work.

She got a call from her parents after the tornado hit.

“The first message I gave her was, don’t worry about going home, you don’t have a home to come home to,” Tatjana Williams said. “That was the worst news I’ve had to give to somebody.”

The family lived in a hotel for two months before they were able to set up a new home on the lot where their old trailer had been.

“Two months in a hotel can get stressful,” Eddie Williams said.

They moved back into their new home April 17.

“At least we had a place to sleep of our own,” Sheila Williams said.

Tatjana Williams contacted members of Paul’s staff about the medals and paperwork that the family lost in the tornado, and the items were able to be replaced. It was a last-resort effort that she wasn’t sure would work.

While she’s glad to have what she had, and determined to live each day to the fullest, she said there are things that will never be replaced, such as baby pictures of Sheila and Jenniffer.

“It’s not so easy,” Tatjana Williams said. “Once you lose it, you don’t have back what you lost.”