Purple Heart Army veteran receives new home thanks to charity

Author: Esly Davis Writer: Tim Belizaire
Published: Updated:

A Purple Heart Army veteran and his family entered their new accessible home on Saturday, thanks to the charity “Homes for Our Troops.”

The organization’s mission is to restore freedom and independence to severely injured veterans.

Sergeant Brandon Rethmel lost his right leg in Afghanistan when a rocket hit his guard shack. On Saturday, his sacrifice was honored with a new home built just for him and his family.

The thing about our veterans is they’ve all volunteered to serve, and they all went down range when it was their time, and in the blink of an eye, their lives and their families changed forever.

Hundreds gathered to celebrate as Rethmel, a veteran injured in combat, received the keys to his new home.

“Thank you is not enough,” said Rethmel. “I don’t know if there’s a word that would encompass my gratitude. I can’t wait to move into this house! I haven’t used my wheelchair in probably ten years.”

The wheelchair-accessible home gives Rethmel freedom and comfort, a gift his friend and fellow veteran Charles Harris understands.

“Brandon, you once told me how our friendship changed your life, and I want you to know that feeling is mutual, brother,” said Harris. “Our friendship reminds me of Proverbs 27:17: ‘as iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

Homes for Our Troops has donated over 400 homes to injured veterans. Behind the organization is a veteran himself.

Tom Landwermeyer is the CEO of Homes for Our Troops. He said that it is his duty to help fellow veterans.

“We don’t see it as charity. We really see it as a moral obligation of the citizens of our country to take care of these veterans who have selflessly served and so greatly sacrificed so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy every single day.

This veteran and his family have longed for the freedom to live without fearing injury in the comfort of their own home.

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