Organization awards home in Fairbanks to combat-wounded Army veteran

3 months ago

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An Army seasoned has been fixed a location successful Fairbanks, courtesy of a programme that helps wounded combat vets rebuild their lives.

Memorial Day usually is simply a intense juncture for Americans to retrieve and convey U.S. subject unit who mislaid their lives successful combat.

But location was nary sorrow during a ceremonial held past week adjacent Fairbanks to grant a seasoned who survived a brushwood pinch death.

And nan only tears shed astatine Thursday’s gathering to grant Andy Armstrong’s work came from his wife, Elise, aft 1 of nan sponsors of nan arena gave her nan keys to nan cabin.

“So please subordinate maine and welcoming nan Armstrong family to their caller home!” said Adam Little, a location Bank of America/Merrill Wealth Management trading executive.

Elise besides gushed erstwhile Little said his institution and nan Texas-based Military Warriors Support Foundation, which organized nan event, besides want to guarantee nan location is furnished.

“This is simply a gift paper for you to take your furnishings for this home,” he said. “We took attraction of each that for your home.”

“Thank you for doing this for each nan veterans that are retired there, and for their families,” she said, “because, for illustration you said, there’s a batch of sacrifices that veterans spell done and that overmuch of nan state doesn’t rather understand.”

Armstrong struggled to find nan words to definitive his appreciation.

“I can’t convey you guys enough,” he said. “What you do is perfectly phenomenal.”

Armstrong was medically retired successful 2012 aft he and 3 different soldiers he was pinch sustained superior injuries erstwhile nan motortruck he was driving deed an explosive instrumentality buried on a roadworthy successful Afghanistan. He was awarded a Purple Heart, and aft rehab returned location to upstate New York, wherever began moving arsenic logger.

Then precocious past twelvemonth he sewage a occupation that brought him to Alaska, driving substance trucks up nan Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Deadhorse.

“It’s challenging,” he said. “With motortruck driving, it’s very monotonous — successful nan Lower 48. Here, that roadworthy changes, by nan hour. And it’s ne'er nan same. It keeps you kinda sorta connected your toes.”

Armstrong says he and his woman person agelong dreamed of surviving successful Alaska. And now that he’s sewage a occupation and a location successful Fairbanks, Elise and their 1-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Andi, tin some subordinate him.

“When I was successful nan Army, maine and my woman had really wanted to get stationed up here,” he said. “And we tried and tried, because Alaska’s benignant of ever been our extremity goal. She had ne'er been up here, I had ne'er been up here. We conscionable benignant of knew that we wanted to travel up present and spot what it’s each about.”

Military Warriors Support Foundation Executive Director Ken Eakes says nan statement is dedicated to helping veterans injured successful combat to heal and execute their dreams.

“We’ve awarded astir a 1000 houses that are mortgage-free to our combat wounded veterans and Gold Star families complete each 50 states,” he said. The location fixed distant Thursday is nan 3rd to beryllium awarded successful Alaska.

Eakes says Bank of America donates homes to his organization, often repairs and renovates them pinch locally hired workers, past awards them to deserving veterans. The programme besides teaches budgeting and different skills to thief veterans build a caller life successful their caller location and offers different services to thief wounded vets recover.

Tim Ellis is simply a newsman astatine KUAC successful Fairbanks.