This Purple Heart Recipient, who lost a leg due to explosion in Afghanistan, now has a home where he can live a hopeful future with his three daughters.
USMC Sgt Kirstie Ennis
USMC SGT Kirstie Ennis speaks about the impact of receiving a mortgage-free home.
United States Air Force Captain Nathan Nelson suffered a spinal cord injury from a rocket blast in Afghanistan. He has no movement below his waist and limited use of his hands. Captain Nelson was part of a special operations team that took heavy fire in September of 2013 during his third tour in Afghanistan.
Building Homes for Heroes recently completed a customized, ground-up, mortgage-free home for Captain Nelson, his wife Jennifer, and their 3-year-old daughter in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.
US Army Specialist Hugo Gonzalez was severely injured in combat in Baqubah, Iraq on June 21, 2004. He was on patrol in a Hummer bucket truck when his unit was ambushed. The vehicle took a direct hit from an improvised explosive device (IED) and a furious gun battle broke out with insurgents.
The blast wave caused Specialist Gonzalez to suffer a traumatic brain injury, and fragments ripped into his head. He was evacuated to the base camp where he was placed in a medically-induced coma, and underwent a craniotomy to remove a piece of bone from his cranium to relieve the pressure of the swelling of his brain.
SPC Gonzalez received his mortgage-free home in Port St. Lucie, FL.
U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Kirstie Ennis nearly died when the CH-53D helicopter she was flying in as an aerial gunner crash-landed in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in June of 2012.
The accident broke her left ankle and caused severe damage to her leg, tore her rotator cuff and labrum, injured the cervical discs of her spine, shattered her jaw, and caused severe facial lacerations, a traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder. Ennis was combat meritoriously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
In his 20th year of service, in August of 2015, Master Sergeant Vera’s base came under attack from a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) driven by suicide bombers. Master Sergeant Vera exposed himself to the blast as he pulled wounded soldiers away from enemy fire. He was shot during his efforts to secure the perimeter.
Sergeant Vera suffered a spinal cord injury that resulted in paralysis. He is now confined to a wheelchair. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and a loss of his vital organs, including a kidney, and part of his liver and intestines.
