Iraq veteran amputee refuses to give up helping people

Army veteran refuses to let loss of legs keep him from riding
FOX 13 News
by Mark Green
September 15, 2013

WEST POINT, Utah – A local Army veteran always dreamed of riding motorcycles, even after he had both of his legs amputated following an explosion in Iraq.

Darrell Isaac Jensen joined the Army in 2005 and became a medic.

“At a young age I was really introduced to it,” he said. “Helping people is something that I’ve always wanted to do. I really thought that’s what I want to do ultimately: I want to help people.”

And even when an explosion took his legs from him, Jensen remained focused on helping others.

“I got blown up on November 9, 2008,” he said. “Three of us walk into a building, and one of my buddies opened up a refrigerator and it went boom. And I assisted, I put tourniquets on people with one hand, and then I put two on one guy, I gave them all my morphine, and then took care of myself. It was definitely an interesting experience.”
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Afghanistan veteran Robert Kislow III fired the fatal shots in the home that volunteers built

Robert Kislow III fired the fatal shots in the home that volunteers built. He was wounded in combat by body and mind. He was also loved. According to the following news account, Robert also attempted suicide before this horrible ending. What went wrong? Why did he survive every wound during combat but could not survive being back home with the woman he planned to marry, his children and an entire community that showed up to build his home? His future mother-in-law is dead now and he ended his own pain with a bullet. This is a strong example of how much these men and women are failed when they come home.

Authorities say Afghanistan War vet killed fiancee's mom, self
Robert Kislow III fired the fatal shots in the home that volunteers built for him.
The Morning Call
By Pamela Lehman and Bill Landauer
July 30, 2013

In 2005, Robert Kislow III survived enemy gunfire in Afghanistan. One bullet cut through his helmet, snaking a path on the back of his head. Other shots shattered his wrist and ankle.

A year after that attack, which ultimately cost him part of a leg, the anger, pain and anguish from his injuries plunged him into depression, leading him to abuse prescription drugs and attempt suicide, the Army veteran from East Allen Township said in a 2008 interview.

He believed his life was on an upswing in 2011 when his son was born. That same day, he wept as he thanked more than 100 volunteers from Homes for Our Troops gathered to build his young family a house near the base of Blue Mountain in Moore Township.

But just before midnight Monday at the home tucked in a wooded lot, authorities say, Kislow shot and killed his fiancee's mother and then turned the handgun on himself. His fiancee, Amanda Snyder, their son and baby girl were also inside at the time of the shootings. They were not injured, police say.

He was wounded while on patrol east of Kabul on June 10, 2005. The 19-year-old private first class waved and smiled at a man he thought was a civilian, but quickly discovered "it was a trap," the article says. "The guy's buddy rose up from the bushes and shot me five times."

Kislow suffered gunshot wounds to the back of his head, ankle, elbow, back and side. The bullet in his head was later removed, but he said the damage caused a traumatic brain injury. His right leg was eventually amputated just below the knee, and he lost most of the movement in his right hand and wrist.
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Afghanistan Double Amputee Veteran Gets New Home

Afghanistan Veteran Gets New Home
WKRG News
By Chad Petri
Posted: Jul 14, 2013

Mobile, AL
With hero's welcome, the raising of the flag and, of course, a ribbon cutting Corporal Christopher Montgomery gets a look at his new house donated by Homes for our Troops after a spirited ceremony in Mobile.

"Without these friends, family, I wouldn't be half the man I am today, no pun intended," says Corporal Christopher Montgomery. Montgomery lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in December of 2010--he says he couldn't believe his it when he was told he was getting a home.
read more here

Bank America and Homes For Our Troops Team Up For Widows

Fort Campbell widows receive mortgage-free homes
Feb 15, 2013
Written by
Kristin M. Hall
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, TENN. — The widows of three Fort Campbell soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan received mortgage-free homes in Tennessee on Friday from Bank of America and Homes for Our Troops.

The wives of Army Spc. Charles “Scott” Jirtle, Army Spc. Blaine Redding and Army Spc. Anthony Vargas were presented with ceremonial keys to their homes in front of a crowd of supporters who had come to Nashville from the post on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line.

The donation of the homes was a reflection of the support from the military community around Fort Campbell for these families, who are referred to within the military as “Gold Star Families.”

All three soldiers were assigned to units in the 101st Airborne Division. Some of the division’s top leaders were in attendance, including the deputy commanding general for support, Brig. Gen. Ronald F Lewis.

Jirtle, 29, and Redding, 22, were killed after their vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device on June 7, 2010, in Konar, Afghanistan. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Vargas, 27, died Nov. 8, 2010, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, after insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team.
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Double Amputee Wounded Marine Will Get New Home

Wounded Marine Will Get New Home
February 10, 2013
by Jocelyne Pruna
5 News Online

Marine Sgt. Marshall Kennedy underwent 35 surgeries after an explosion overseas, and the organization Homes For Our Troops is building a home designed for his needs.

The hallways and doorways will be wider so his wheelchair can move around easily. The framing of his new home is almost complete and there’s a large sign at the front announcing the project.

“When I first got injured, you never expect people like this,” Kennedy said.

Homes For Our Troops is a national non-profit organization that builds houses for wounded veterans who give so much to this country. Marshall, his wife and two boys Caleb, 3, and Ethan, 5, stopped by Sunday to check on the progress.

“It’s a great feeling,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to be better for us to have this very nice house, it’s going to be a well-built home and it’s going to stand the test of time.”

Marshall’s life changed on June 13, 2011 in Sangin, Afghanistan. He stepped on an IED, an improvised explosive device.

He lost his left leg below the knee, right leg above the knee, and suffered lacerations on his left arm, a shoulder injury as well as internal injuries. Still, Kennedy considers himself lucky.
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Medal of Honor recipients visit Camp Lejeune to fight PTSD stigma

2 Medal of Honor recipients visit Camp Lejeune
December 11, 2012
by Joe Borlik
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.
(AP)

Two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients are visiting a North Carolina Marine Corps base to talk about the stress of combat.

Retired Marine Maj. Gen. James Livingston and retired Army Maj. Drew Dix are meeting with Marines at Camp Lejeune on Tuesday as part of their work in reducing the stigma about seeking help with stress-related issues.
read more here

I had the pleasure of interviewing another Medal of Honor Hero, Sammy Davis and his wife Dixie. They are also active in trying to get veterans to seek help for PTSD.

I didn't have the right audio equipment because I was planning on just filming the music for the Nam Knights Homes For Our Troops fundraiser event. I know Sammy and his wife and we were talking about the PSA he was involved with along with other Medal of Honor heroes and they had some time to sit down with me. There was no way I would turn down a chance to get Sammy on video. Just turn up the volume so you can hear him. At the end of the video you'll hear someone calling him to the stage and watch his reaction as he is so polite he didn't want to interrupt Dixie to get to the stage.

Quadriplegic Cpl. Nick Orchowski welcomed home to new home

Injured soldier honored with new, specially-adapted home
KDVR
by Tammy Vigil
November 17, 2012

PARKER, Colo. – Retired Army Cpl. Nick Orchowski protected our freedom, only to come home from Iraq eight years ago to a prison of his own body. He is a quadriplegic, but has battled back to regain function in his legs.

On Saturday, the national non-profit Home for Our Troops gave him and his family the gift of independence, and the chance to start a new life in a brand new, specially-adapted home in Parker.

Orchowski, 28, his wife, Jamie, 30, and their two kids walked up to their new house in the Elkhorn Ranch subdivision with a welcome wagon like no other. Their new community has showered them with appreciation for Orchowski’s service that left him severely injured.

Orchowski was thrown from a vehicle that was hit during an insurgent’s attack in Baghdad in May 2004.

He broke his cervical spine from C1 to C6, and shattered his elbow in 36 pieces. He said he has two titanium implants holding it all together. A tendon in his right leg was also ripped away during the attack.

“We live in the land of the free because we have the brave to support that,” said Maj. Gen. Scott Schofield with the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base.

Homes for our Troops raised $200,000 in donations from builders, suppliers, area businesses, and schools to build the house for the Orchowskis. The home is worth nearly $400,000.
read more here

Cpl. Nick Orchowski

Injured Marine to receive new house from Homes for Our Troops

Injured Marine to receive new house from Homes for Our Troops
By JANNETTE PIPPIN
Daily News Staff
Published: Saturday, October 6, 2012

STELLA — Team Lang was out in force Saturday to help kick off of a home construction project that gives back to an area veteran part of what he has lost in service to his country.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the start of construction of a new specially adapted home for Marine Staff Sgt. Bradley Lang, who lost both of his legs above the knee and fractured his pelvis when he stepped on an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan in July 2011.

A group of students from the Coastal Carolina Community College criminal justice program showed up in matching Team Lang shirts to show their support for the project for the Lang family. Alyssa Lang, Staff Sgt. Lang’s wife, is one of their instructors.

“We want to see them get into their new home as soon as possible and we’re going to get volunteers together and do whatever we can to help,” said student Kellie Shirek.

The support of Team Lang extended to friends, family and community members as hundreds gathered in the Forest Ridge subdivision of Stella for the start of the Homes for Our Troops project.
read more here

Patriot Guard Riders standing for Wounded Warrior GySgt John Hayes, USMC

HOTH Mission

Wounded Warrior GySgt John Hayes, USMC
Home for Our Troops Adaptive Home Build
St Augustine, FL
FRI, 10 AUG 12

Last year the Patriot Guard Riders were honored by an invitation to escort Wounded Warrior USMC Cpl. Tyler Southern and his wife Ashley to receive the keys to their new adaptive home. At that celebration Cpl. Southern said his goal was to get his fellow Wounded Warrior, USMC GySgt. John Hayes (and family) their own adaptive home. That goal has come true and on Friday, August 10th 2012 the Patriot Guard Riders have been invited to honor Gunny Hayes and Family with a Flag Line to kick off the built site of his own Home for Our Troops adaptive home. Homes For Our Troops

Please consider visiting the Homes For Our Troops website and volunteer for this worthwhile cause.

Mission: The PGR will be standing a Flag Line at the Build Site to welcome Gunny Hayes and his family.

The build site is in rural St. John’s County. We will stage at the build site and set the Flag Line to receive Gunny Hayes and Family.

This is the wounded veteran the Nam Knights had the latest fundraiser for.

Homes For Our Troops Home Award Program

Russ and Carol Gambill don't think they have better things to do than to spend so much time working to make coming home better for our combat wounded men and women. They love what they do because they love them. If you ever wanted to get involved with an organization doing great works, this is it. Homes For Our Troops is making sure more veterans have a place to come home to!

Homes for Our Troops has partnered up with a couple of the largest banking corporations in the country.

These banks are taking their bank owned homes and want to give them to qualifying Veterans and the surviving families of our servicemen and women who have perished during the OIF/OEF and Iraqi War.

Please read the email inserted below for instruction on applying and more information. If you are or know of someone who may qualify please pass this on.

Russ and Carol Gambill
Homes for Our Troops Volunteers
Homes For Our Troops.org
Florida Veterans Network

Are you a wounded or injured, post-9/11/01 Veteran or a Gold Star spouse? Please read this email to see if you meet the basic qualification critera then apply for a mortgage-free home!

Do you know a qualifying Veteran/Gold Star family that needs a mortgage-free home? Please forward this email to them!

Homes for Our Troops - "Home Award Program"

Dear HFOT Families, Friends, and Supporters,

We are excited to tell you about an expansion to Homes for Our Troops mission. We have recently added a “Home Award Program” that will allow us to provide the "American Dream" of home ownership to a broader population of deserving Americans; our nation's wounded and injured Veterans and to the spouses of our fallen service members, completely mortgage-free.

As an organization, we feel as though our nation's Veterans, especially the wounded and injured and Gold Star families have paid enough through their service and sacrifice and it's time for us to give back. We give back by providing mortgage-free homes to our deserving military families that would not normally qualify for our original “Specially Adapted Home Program.”

Homes for Our Troops will soon begin receiving donations of homes that are currently owned by national banks. These top-quality homes are in move-in condition and located throughout the country. The banks want to donate these homes to HFOT for Veterans and their families, mortgage-free! We would like to help as many applicants as possible and need your help in disseminating this word. Please share this email with anyone you know that could potentially qualify for the Home Award Program.

Basic Qualification Criteria
You are a Veteran that sustained injuries during combat or while deployed in support of combat operations after September 11, 2001.

You are Widow/Widower or dependent of a service member due to injuries sustained in combat or while deployed in support of combat operations after September 11, 2001. You plan to make your new "HFOT Home Award" home your primary residence for a minimum of three years.

You accept the responsibility of home ownership and have the resources to maintain a home. (ongoing maintenance and upkeep, taxes, utilities etc.)

HOME AWARD PROGRAM CONTACT INFO

Carlo Gaita
Home Award Program Manager
Cheryl Wick
Program Support Representative
Email: HAP@homesforourtroops.org.

Potential Home Award Candidates: Please fill out the open application using the link above and provide the required documentation to start the application process. The open application gives you the opportunity to become pre-qualified for a "Home Award Program" home by the selection committee. When we receive notification from our banking partners that a home becomes available that fits the criteria you specify, we will send you an email notification with all the information on the home(s). You will then have seven (7) calendar days to notify Homes for Our Troops if you want one of the homes on the list.

I am sure you may have some questions about this program; please feel free to visit our web site, Homes For Our Troops Home Award or to contact us at HAP@homesforourtroops.org.

Thank you for your continued support of the Homes for Our Troops mission, we look forward to being able to provide more Veterans and their families the “American Dream” of home ownership through our “Home Award Program.”

Homes For Our Troops builds home for injured Mass. veteran

Volunteers build home for injured Mass. veteran
By Bob Dunn
Daily Hampshire Gazette via The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday May 13, 2012

GRANBY, Mass. — When Marine Sgt. Joshua Bouchard enters his new home for the first time, messages of thanks, support and well-wishes will literally be embedded in the walls.

Bouchard, 29, originally from Amherst, lost a leg and severely injured his spine while serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2009. He will receive a new, accessible home suited to his post-war condition through the efforts of volunteers, donations and Homes For Our Troops, an organization in Taunton that provides homes for injured and disabled veterans.

Bouchard is recuperating at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., from injuries he incurred when an improvised explosive device struck the Humvee he was traveling in. The blast killed two other Marines.

Bouchard said he will be at the hospital for the next two months.

A.J. Crane, co-owner of A. Crane Construction, which is donating its services, said that for $5 donations, people were invited to sign pieces of lumber that would become the frame of the 2,650-square-foot house.

“Thank you for your service,” reads one. “Wishing you many years of happiness,” reads another.
read more here

Orlando Nam Knights Homes For Our Troops/

Bad Mannerz did a great job as always.
Here they're doing "With A Little Help From My Friends." Great song considering that with help from friends, the Orlando Nam Knights raised over $25,000 for Homes For Our Troops this year.



Medal of Honor Hero, Vietnam Veteran Sgt. Sammy Davis sat down with me to talk about what the troops should do when they come home. "Talk about it. We're not supposed to forget." Considering after his actions earned him the Medal of Honor Award during Vietnam, and he ended up being beaten up at the San Francisco Airport, he knows what he's talking about.



In this video you can hear what Sammy did in Vietnam along with hearing what happened to him at the airport. As Sammy put it, the way they were treated is one of the biggest reasons they made sure no other veteran would face the same thing.




There will be a few more videos on this soon. What a great day!

UPDATE
Here is the video from Sammy talking about how he became known for playing Shenandoah.

After combat talk about it

After combat talk about it
by Chaplain Kathie
Why would anyone think they needed to "get over it" or forget about something so important in their lives? Telling them to forget is like telling them to forget the friends they made, the people they cared about, the good times as well as the bad ones. Telling them to forget is like saying it didn't matter, no big deal, even if they saw someone they knew blown up in front of their eyes or saluted as the coffin with the flag was carried away. It all mattered and it still should but it doesn't have to take control of the rest of their lives.

We know what has to happen and we know what works. Considering Combat PTSD has been studied for 40 years, there isn't much that has not been done. The only thing new coming out of all the studies is the brain scans showing the changes in the brain. As for the rest, they keep repeating mistakes, like changing the name that is used to describe this.

A wise friend of mine told me today that this thing with considering changing the D in PTSD to I for injury was all about money. A disorder is life long but an injury can be "cured" even though they have never cured PTSD. Veterans can heal and live better lives making peace with what they had to go through but only a few have claimed they found the cure for it. If that were true then they'd be billionaires and we'd see a lot less suicides.

We can make it better for all of them if we stop treating them like the rest of the population and finally get it through our heads they are not like the rest of us as far as what we asked them to do. They are like us as far as being human, getting hurt, having their lives changed by events and all they need to be happy. What do we need? Someone to talk to. Knowing someone cares enough about us to listen to us without judging. Instead of trying to "fix us" we need them to help us stand on our own two feet by being there when we're down. We need to know we matter to someone! They need the same. Is that too much to ask?

Medal of Honor Hero Sammy Davis and his wife Dixie took time out during the Orlando Nam Knights Homes For Our Troops annual fundraiser to talk about life after combat. As you can hear in the video, Sammy was spending too much time with me and needed to get on the stage. What they wanted to say was too important to cut short. I feel totally blown away they would spend that much time with me, but considering how wonderful this couple is, I knew how much their message to the troops was.

Sammy and Dixie feel strongly that the men and women coming home need to stop suffering in silence. Talk about it! Sammy said "We're not supposed to forget about it."

Dixie wants the spoused to know that we all need to support them and help them talk to someone, if not us. Dixie also shared how her first husband died of cancer caused by Agent Orange.

If you want to know how to stop military suicides, this is it. Changing the name won't help. Giving them pills and sending them on their way won't help. We've made all the mistakes and have seen the terrible results. It is time to stop just talking about them and start listening to them.

Medal of Honor Hero Sammy Davis talks about coming home

Note from Chaplain Kathie

On Saturday Medal of Honor Hero Sammy Davis and his wife Dixie attended the Orlando Nam Knights fundraiser for Homes For Our Troops. Before the event, Sammy and Dixie took time out to talk to me and share a story few have ever heard. This is part one. Part Two is Sammy's speech and he talks about being in Vietnam. Part three is a message Sammy has for the troops coming home and for our veterans with PTSD. Dixie has a message for the wives.

May 5, 2012

At the Orlando Nam Knights fundraiser for Homes For Our Troops, Vietnam Veteran and Medal of Honor hero Sammy Davis talked to me about what it was like coming home after all he'd been through. It is a story few have heard before. As Sammy put it, it is one of the reasons no other veteran will ever come home treated like that again.

"Wimpy" read the citation about what Sammy did in Vietnam and Sammy talked about what he came home to. As you watch this, think of all he did, all he went through, only to be treated the way he was. I adored Sammy before hearing this but now, I can't think of a more magnificent example of the finest this nation has.

Medal of Honor Hero Sammy Davis had busy week

The Orlando Nam Knights held another fundraiser for Homes For Our Troops on Saturday. Sammy is in the middle of this picture. I met Sammy and his wife Dixie a few times in the past but never really had a chance to talk to him. Saturday we sat together for an interview and it will be up on this blog as soon.

While you don't hear much about what he's doing, he's doing it and going around the country with Dixie but the national media doesn't have much time for this national hero!

Medal of Honor recipient visits students
By Matt Lakin
Knoxville News Sentinel via AP Posted : Sunday May 6, 2012

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For Sammy Davis, the greatest honor comes from seeing the children’s faces as they hold his medal in their hands.

“When you see the looks on their faces and hear the questions they ask, it’s very easy to open up your heart and let them look in,” he said recently. “There have been over 2.5 million children hold this medal. I tell them, it’s theirs. I’m just the caretaker of it.”

Davis, 65, received the Medal of Honor for holding off a Viet Cong assault and for saving three wounded members of his Army artillery crew during fighting near Cai Lay, Vietnam, on Nov. 18, 1967. He came to Knoxville to take questions from elementary students at Sacred Heart Cathedral School and to help promote the Medal of Honor Society’s upcoming convention in Knoxville, set for October 2014.

Organizers estimate the convention could bring more than $2 million in revenue.
read more here

Homes For Our Troops Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes

Homes for our Troops

Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Hayes was on his 4th deployment when he lost both of his legs and suffered life-threatening injuries after stepping on an IED in Sangin, Afghanistan on December 28, 2010. An Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician, GySgt Hayes was on a routine mission, when his comrade located an undetonated ordinance. While retracing his steps to return and assist his partner, GySgt Hayes stepped on a buried IED resulting in the traumatic amputations of both of his legs.

During transport out of Afghanistan to Landstuhl, Germany, GySgt Hayes required lifesaving resuscitation multiple times. Once stabilized, he was brought to Bethesda National Naval Medical Center where the long road to recovery began. During his first week in the hospital, Hayes miraculously survived a series of grueling surgeries before a serious infection led to a rare hemi-pelvectomy amputation, leaving Hayes without a leg or pelvis on his left side.

GySgt Hayes has endured over sixty surgeries thus far, and remains at the newly renamed Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for continued treatment and physical therapy.

Homes for Our Troops plan home for Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Hayes

GySgt. John Hayes


Jacksonville, FL


Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Hayes was on his 4th deployment when he lost both of his legs and suffered life-threatening injuries after stepping on an IED in Sangin, Afghanistan on December 28, 2010. An Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician, GySgt Hayes was on a routine mission, when his comrade located an undetonated ordinance. While retracing his steps to return and assist his partner, GySgt Hayes stepped on a buried IED resulting in the traumatic amputations of both of his legs.

During transport out of Afghanistan to Landstuhl, Germany, GySgt Hayes required lifesaving resuscitation multiple times. Once stabilized, he was brought to Bethesda National Naval Medical Center where the long road to recovery began. During his first week in the hospital, Hayes miraculously survived a series of grueling surgeries before a serious infection led to a rare hemi-pelvectomy amputation, leaving Hayes without a leg or pelvis on his left side. GySgt Hayes has endured over sixty surgeries thus far, and remains at the newly renamed Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for continued treatment and physical therapy.
read more here

Homes For Our Troops finishes another house

Wounded Marine Has New Place to Live
A wounded soldier and his family got a first look at their now-finished new home Saturday.
Posted: 7:04 PM Oct 22, 2011
Reporter: Joe Harrington

SMITH VALLEY, NV - A wounded soldier and his family got a first look at their now finished new home Saturday.

The house is designed for wheel-chair access, with shelves that fold out, lower counters, wider doors.

"Just having the freedom in a wheelchair in here is pretty awesome it's a beautiful home," Marine Sgt. Dylan Gray said.

Sgt. Dylan Gray wears prosthetics when not using his wheelchair. The married father of three lost his legs to an anti-tank mine in Iraq. His sacrifice was an inspiration for the community to build a home for his family.
read more here

Homes for Our Troops builds house for wounded Orlando Army veteran

I met Luis and Amber out at the Nam Knights in Orlando and this video is about how they met. I have to tell you that if you know anyone thinking there is nothing to hope for consider this and what they have to say.

I am glad the Orlando Sentinel reported about this. I was out there filming this morning, stunned by all the people there helping to build Luis and Amber a home and if you want a heartwarming story about people doing things for the sake of someone else, read more about what is happening. (Check back in a couple of days for a the video I shot this morning.)

Homes for Our Troops builds house for wounded Orlando Army veteran

Luis Puertas, who lost both his legs in the Iraq war, assists project contractor Nathan Cross with the first wall of the home being built for him by Homes for Our Troops. (Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel / September 16, 2011)

By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel
8:01 p.m. EDT, September 16, 2011

They met at a party in Orlando two years ago when he was a baby-faced Army veteran of 23 and she a 24-year-old sales representative with a thing for military men.

She asked about the tattoo on his wrist — a wheelchair-accessible symbol with the word "Army" in Braille characters underneath.

"What are you — like, handicapped or something?" she said playfully.

"Well, actually," he began, then rolled up his jeans to reveal two carbon-fiber prosthetic legs.

It might have been a social disaster. Instead, it was the spark of a great love that brought them to a rural Orange County neighborhood Friday where Homes for Our Troops, a Massachusetts-based charity, began building their dream home.
for more pictures and to read more go here
Homes For Our Troops

Homes for Our Troops gives Marine "freedom" at new home

Wounded warrior: Marine Sgt. Adam Kisielewski gets a new home

By Mike Conneen

Today, a local Marine, severely injured in Iraq, hosted a house party he'll likely never forget.

Hundreds of veterans and volunteers celebrated the unveiling of Sgt. Adam Kisielewski's new wheelchair-accessible home in Frederick.

The organization Homes For Our Troops initiated the project, but most of the funding came from the community.

In Frederick, the Patriot Guard riders escorted Kisielewski, 27, and his family to their new home.

In 2005, near Fallujah, Kisielewski lost his left arm and right leg in an explosion.

He nearly lost his life.
read more here
Marine Sgt Adam Kisielewski gets a new home