Posted on 12/30/2004 8:07:46 PM PST by The Loan Arranger
Wheelchair-bound and recovering from an explosion that paralyzed him, Army Staff Sgt. Eugene "Gene" Simpson Jr. was joking and laughing heartily as nearly 100 people at American Legion Post 364 here expressed their appreciation for his heroic service in Iraq.
The American Legion post and its auxiliary partnered with the Massachusetts- based "Homes for Our Troops" organization and threw a benefit dance for him Nov. 13 to raise money to build a handicapped-accessible house for the paralyzed veteran, his wife and their four young sons.
The house will be outfitted with entry paths, ramps, wide doorways, lifts, modified bathroom facilities and other features to make things accessible for a paralyzed person in a wheelchair.
Simpson was paralyzed by an improvised explosive device in Tikrit. Looking around at all the people in the legion activities hall raising money to buy him a house, Simpson said, "I'm blessed! You never expect anything like this. I pray every day and I have a lot of friends and family who really care about me and want to support me. They truly went out of their way for me today."
Homes for Our Troops founder and president John S. Gonsalves said he saw soldiers on a television news show talking about the day their convoy was attacked in Iraq.
"One of the Humvees in the convoy was hit with an RPG – a rocket propelled grenade – and they weren't sure if the driver survived," said Gonsalves, who flew in from Boston to participate in the fund-raiser for Simpson. "When they finally did get him out, they realized he had survived, but had lost both of his legs."
(Excerpt) Read more at homesforourtroops.org ...
I never got around to posting this article on FR last week. I had some distractions. Sorry, I really meant to.
I posted an article last year when the group 1st became well known. I used to reside in the same town as the Troop who motivated the fellow (also same town) who began this program.
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2004/12/20/news/news/news01.txt
Thanks for the ping!
BIG BUMP! and ping.
Good deeds bump! :-)
"Homes for Our Troops" ~ Bump!
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