Veterans Christopher Lawrence and Quincy Lopez weren’t searching for accolades when they put their lives on the line and suffered devastating injuries in the post-9/11 wars.
But they admit it’s nice to receive a helping hand for all the sacrifices they’ve made.
Lawrence, a former sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Lopez, who serves as a sergeant in the Army, were given forever homes on Sept. 6 from the Homes for Our Troops organization. Both veterans, from Wesley Chapel, Florida, were excited to see their new houses, as reported by Newsbreak.
“This house is meant for me to be in forever,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence and his sister grew up in foster care. They moved a lot. Stability was a precious commodity. The constant flux of moving prepared him for life as a marine, floating from different units.
“And I don’t want my children to grow up with that,” Lawrence said. “And I feel like I’ve never unpacked and really moved in anywhere, but I plan to be here.”
He’s glad to finally be planting roots and providing the stable environment to his kids that he didn’t have.
Sept. 6 also marks a significant date in Lawrence’s life. It’s the day he was injured in combat and lost some of his closest comrades.
“I believe that God and the universe work with a purpose. And today, being Sept. 6, and receiving this house, and everybody being here, it’s a day for celebration,” he said, “but it was also one of the saddest days in my life. It was a day that I lost my crew, my team.”
When Lawrence was notified he would be receiving a house, he was hesitant at first. Was it OK to accept this?
“I don’t like accepting things. I’m humble. I don’t like all the theater and the attention,” he said. “But, you know, it’s worth it, especially bringing attention to a phenomenal organization like Homes for Our Troops.”
Lawrence’s new home will change his life in many ways.
“After I got injured, (doctors) said you probably won’t be able to walk. And then they said, ‘You absolutely won’t be able to run.’ And now I run every chance I get, and I’ll take the opportunity to walk anywhere too. When I have good days, I can do everything,” Lawrence said. “I could be around the house, I could drive, I could walk, I could climb stairs. But on a bad day, what am I? Realistically, I’m not helping the family. I’m kind of taking up space.”
Lopez also felt gratitude and excitement for his new home. In January 2006, Lopez was in his third deployment, this time to Baghdad, Iraq. Serving as an intelligence NCO with the 10th Mountain Division, a convoy he was riding in struck an improvised explosive device (IED). The blast so severely mangled his right leg that it needed to be amputated below the knee. Since that dark day almost 20 years ago, Lopez has endured 25 surgeries.
Due to his disabilities, Lopez’s old home was deemed unsafe.
“I would have to roll my wheelchair up to the bathroom door, get up, use a walker to get to where the toilet is, and then use grab bars just to get down to the toilet,” he said. “Those are multiple opportunities for me to fall into transition. And, trust me, I fell many, many times.”
His new home is better equipped to handle his physical challenges. He also knows other disabled veterans like Lawrence will quickly reap the benefits of their new digs.
“With Homes for Our Troops, they’re not just rebuilding families, they’re rebuilding this whole community,” Lopez said.
Bottom line – it's life-changing.
“This home is going to allow me to be a better veteran, a better warrior, a better father, a better community service member, a better coach,” Lopez said. “So, you’re not just giving families an opportunity to rebuild their lives. You’re giving families their brothers back, their sisters back, their mothers, their fathers, their uncles, their aunts. You’re giving families back a lot, and I can’t thank you all enough for what you’re doing.”
Tom Landwermeyer, president and CEO of Homes for Our Troops, got a little emotional seeing Lawrence and Lopez’s reactions to their new homes. After all, he knows where they’re coming from. Landwermeyer is also a veteran, having spent 33 years in the Army.
"One of the first things we were taught as a leaders was to take care of your troops. For me personally, this is just taking care of troops another way. Just continue to do it,” Landwermeyer said. “But really, even though we’re a charity, we don’t see that our mission is charity. We really see it as a moral obligation, the duty of our country to take care of these veterans and their families.
“(Lopez and Lawrence) raised their right hand, volunteered, and went down range when it was their time to go. In the blink of an eye, their lives and their families' lives changed forever. So, it’s our country’s responsibility to take care of these veterans and put them in homes that they can actually be independent in, have full access to the home, and be a completely safe place for them to rehab and recover.”
Homes provided by the organization are built specifically for disabled veterans to meet their needs.
“All of our homes have more than 40 major special adaptations designed into them to restore that freedom and independence to the veteran,” Landwermeyer said. “In a normal home, the veterans that we serve have lost limbs. We have different levels of paralysis, blindness and severe burns, so these are the most severely injured that we had coming out of those wars.”
Lawrence marveled, watching his daughters excitedly hurry from room to room. He’s looking forward to his family’s future.
“This is just, you know, magnificent,” Lawrence said. “I can function here. I’m so happy to actually be a member of the family all the time, not just when I’m having good days.”
Homes for Our Troops constructs up to 25 homes yearly for severely injured post-9/11 veterans. According to the organization, almost 90 cents of each dollar donated to Homes for Our Troops goes toward building houses. The organization is always looking for donations and volunteers to help build homes.
