Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mary Junell | Jimmion Clayton, a former sergeant in the North Carolina National Guard, and his wife,...... read more read more
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RALEIGH, N.C. – For many, part of the American dream is owning a home. Thanks to the non-profit organization Operation Coming Home, one Veteran of the North Carolina National Guard can now realize that same dream.
Jimmion Clayton, a former sergeant with the NCNG received the keys to his new home in a ceremony held in his honor May 20, 2016 in Fuquay-Varina.
Clayton, received the home as part of Operation Coming Home’s ongoing mission to aid local military service members who were severely wounded in combat, by fulfilling the desire to live the American Dream of home ownership.
“It’s overwhelming and very emotional,” said Clayton who wiped tears from his wife’s face as they received the keys for the house. “It still feels surreal, but to see everybody here today, it’s kind of coming together to be reality.”
Clayton was wounded by a suicide bomber while serving with the NCNG’s 514th Military Police Company in Afghanistan, in 2012.
Out of the 14 Hero Homes that OCH have built in North Carolina, this is the second home built for a North Carolina National Guard Soldier.
“I’m so excited that we’re able to recognize our National Guard because I think sometimes people do not realize that the Guard deploys as often as they do,” said Tim Minton, a board member and past president of Operation Coming Home. “We’re proud not only that he is coming back home, but that he was part of our home previously.”
Minton, who works for the North Carolina Home Builders Association said OCH was created when they were looking for a way to give back to local Veterans.
“We wanted to give injured veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan a start as they were trying to integrate back into the community,” he said. “What better way, being part of the Home Builders Association, than to provide a home.”
Minton said that more than 70 companies come together to make the hero homes possible.
The street in front of Clayton’s new home was filled with community leaders, friends, family and fellow service members as he was gifted with money to buy furniture, a tribute motorcycle that Soldiers had signed for him, memorabilia for his hero room and other items to make his family more comfortable in their new home.
“It’s a very humbling experience,” said his wife, Tempestt Spencer. “We never imagined something like this would happen to us.”
During the ceremony many spoke of what a home means to them. Clayton can now start to determine what it means for him and his family.
“We’ve moved different places but we never put that kind of energy into a home as if it’s our secure place,” he said. “We just have an energy now as far as us, our unification. It’s a different feeling coming to the home, it actually feels like a home.”
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2016 14:37 |
| Story ID: | 198924 |
| Location: | FUQUAY-VARINA, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 204 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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