Photo By Sgt. Joshua Laidacker | Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team,...... read more read more
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SAVANNAH, Ga. – Soldiers of 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, started their new year by seizing an opportunity to volunteer their time and help a brother in arms in partnership with Operation Hero House by helping to prepare a new home for a wounded warrior in Savannah, Ga.
Operation Hero House is a special program, founded by Lamar Smith Signature Homes, to build and donate a specially-designed home for the needs of a wounded warrior.
Pvt. Draven Puffinbarger, an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th IBCT, said giving back to the community of wounded veterans who have given so much is really important.
"What better to do for a fellow infantryman than to come out here and help him with his house?" said Puffinbarger.
The group of 25 soldiers from 1-30th Inf., also known as the “Battle Boars,” helped in landscaping the three bed room home which is slated to be completed in late February.
Lamar Smith, owner of Lamar Smith Signature Homes, said, "It seems like a small thing for us to do, to give back to somebody that has really made an incredible sacrifice for our country."
Smith said the project kicked off about a year ago where he asked all the vendors involved with building his homes to donate towards Operation Hero House.
"We gave out pledge cards and there were about 120 plus people who signed," said Smith. "We had a house in the cards; all we had to do was put it together and find the right candidate."
A panel in conjunction with the Army chose 1st Lt. Hank Brady, an infantry officer of the Marne Division, and his wife Maria as the family to receive the new home.
"My first thought was that there has to be somebody out there who could benefit from this more than me," said Brady, who was injured in Afghanistan in May 2013.
Brady said a rocket propelled grenade exploded near him and his hands and bicep took the brunt of the shrapnel. Brady, a native of Tifton, Ga., also said he plans to continue to serve as an officer in the U.S. Army and that soldiers, like the Battle Boars volunteering at his home, provide him with the motivation.
"They don't know who I am, they never heard of me before, and instead of getting a chance to sleep in and have some time off, they decided to volunteer," said Brady. "It means a lot, and when I have those bad days, if I can't do it for myself and I don't feel like getting out of bed and my hands are hurting, I can do it for them, for my soldiers and my friends."
Smith said he hopes other builders will pick up the challenge and start similar programs because it's needed in the community.
"We can only build one at a time, but at least that's one we can make a difference for," concluded Smith.
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.12.2015 12:29 |
| Story ID: | 151780 |
| Location: | SAVANNAH, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 204 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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