Cedar City » Travis Wood, a U.S. Army sergeant who lost a leg in the war in Afghanistan, watched Tuesday as a group of Cedar City volunteers worked on the house he is getting free of charge.

"It's an amazing, beautiful house," said Wood, whose right leg was amputated and replaced with a prosthetic limb after a January 2007 incident in southern Afghanistan where his vehicle hit three anti-tank mines. The blast crushed his pelvis, broke his spinal cord and fractured ribs that pierced a lung.

Building the house is Homes for Our Troops, an organization that uses volunteers and donated supplies to help veterans suffering from debilitating injuries in the Iraq and Afghan wars.

On Tuesday, about 50 people showed up to join the "building brigade" that hopes to erect the structure within three days. The interior work could take two months.

Brian Nichols, a general contractor, is donating his time and expertise to oversee the project. Food, water and building materials are being donated by businesses around this southwestern Utah city. The Iron County Board of Realtors kicked in $10,000 toward the effort.

"It's amazing how the community has come together to help," said Wood, who has undergone 84 surgeries for his injuries.

"They said I would never walk again," said Wood, adding that he holds the record for number of surgeries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Sgt. Brad Smith, who met Wood in Washington and traveled from Fort Collins, Colo., to help with the project, said his friend's perseverance and optimism despite his injuries is inspiring.

"He's pretty stubborn," said Smith of Wood. "He wasn't going to believe he wouldn't walk again."

Chris Haught, who helped organize the volunteers, said her husband, Robert Haught, is donating time and paint for the house.

She said she heard of the project from the Iron County Building Industry Association and started working the phone to recruit volunteers and put together donated materials and food.

"It's a great way to show support [for troops]," said Haught. "I'd mention the project and people ... would go 'What do you need?' It's been fun."

Bruce Rafferty, with the southern Utah chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America, said eight members of his organization showed up.

"This will allow [Wood] to get well and enjoy his life and family and future," said Rafferty.

Mike Duckett, the project manager for Homes for Our Troops, said Wood's house will be 2,100 square feet with four bedrooms and everything built to meet standards specified by Americans with Disabilities Act.

He said his group worked with the county's Board of Realtors in selecting a building lot and helped organize volunteers and donations.

Duckett said the house will be finished later this summer. Wood will live there with wife, Stephanie, and 4-year-old daughter, Madeline.

The contractor, Nichols, said the volunteers will probably have the basic structure completed by Thursday.

"They're off to a great start," he said.

Wood's project is the third one in Utah. Sgt. Gordon Ewell is living in a house he received in Eagle Mountain, and one is under construction in Salt Lake City for Bryant Jacobs. Both Ewell and Jacobs were injured in Iraq.

Vicki Thomas, a spokeswoman for Homes for Our Troops, said the Taunton, Mass.-based nonprofit gets several hundred requests a year from injured veterans.

She said a Taunton contractor started the organization five years ago. It has built about 40 houses, and officials hope to build that many this year around the country.

"We've learned a lot in the past five years," she said, adding that a veteran is selected following a background check and interviews.

The veteran can select from five design plans and live wherever they want.

"Most chose to live where there is family or by a [Veterans Administration] hospital where they receive treatment," she said. "They usually find out after being in a hospital for an extended time that there's no place like home."

mhavnes@sltrib.com