|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crowds gathered in the Bridgeland community to break ground on the 10th home to
be built for a wounded war veteran through the
HelpingaHero.org Home Program.
Bridgeland donated a cul-de-sac homesite overlooking a lake for the project, and
Perry Homes is building the home. This is the seventh home Perry has
constructed at a substantial discount for the
HelpingaHero.org Home Program. The home is slated for completion this summer.
The home is being built for Purple Heart recipient retired Capt. Daniel Moran,
USMC, his wife, Teal, and their two children, Trey, 4, and Macy, 2. Having
joined the Marines in 2004, Moran was in his second tour of duty in Ramadi,
Iraq, when his platoon was ambushed. Three members of his platoon were killed
instantly, and Moran sustained third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body.
He also suffered a compression fracture to his T-8 vertebrae, herniated discs,
a mild traumatic brain injury and minor inhalation injury resulting in complex
obstructed sleep apnea. He was rushed to a hospital in Balad, Iraq, and then
transferred to Landstuhl, Germany. After his condition stabilized, Moran was
transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio while still in a coma.
He spent two and a half years in the burn unit recovering from his injuries and
has undergone more than 30 surgeries. The groundbreaking ceremony was held the
day before his final surgery.
Attending the event were Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, whose congressional
district stretches from Austin to the northwest suburbs of Houston; Peter
Houghton, Bridgeland
’s vice president, master-planned communities; Stephen Najvar, Perry Homes’ division president; active-duty service men; and several other HelpingaHero.org home recipients. Representing Houston Rotary District 5890, which raised the
money for the home, was retired Houston Astro Craig Biggio.
“For all the civil liberties we have today as
|
Americans, we owe it all to our service men and women and the sacrifices they
are making for us to live the life we live,
” Biggio said. “It is a huge honor for me to be part of this effort.”
“This means the world to me,” Moran said. “I thank the home program for making an investment in me and my family.”
The home will have many accommodations for Moran’s physical condition, including enhanced temperature control measures such as
tinted windows and a high-efficiency air and heating system since Moran is no
longer able to control his body temperature. An extended covered porch will
allow him to spend time outdoors with his children without exposure to direct
sunlight.
“This particular homesite was selected to allow the least amount of direct
sunlight into the home,
” said Houghton. “We are thrilled to be able to give something back to a man who has given so very
much for his country.
”
The Bridgeland home is one of 15 the HelpingaHero.org Home Program hopes to build in the Houston area for disabled veterans. Nine
homes have been completed to date. Homes are specially adapted to accommodate a
recipient
’s specific injuries.
“Our goal in providing homes for our wounded heroes is to equip them to
transition successfully into their local community,
” said Meredith Iler, national chairman of the program. “We are honored to give back to someone who served so valiantly, and will
continue to reach out to our other wounded heroes and assist them in their
journey to recovery.
”
HelpingaHero.org is expanding its home program this year to also build homes in Arizona,
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida and California.
|
