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Cedar City » About 50 well-wishers crowded Friday into the garage of Travis Wood's new house in Cedar City, built for him by volunteers using donated materials.
"It feels warm," Wood said of the new house after he was given the keys during a short ceremony. "That is my first impression, that all these volunteers did this."
His new home was provided through Homes for Our Troops, an organization started by a general contractor in 2004 to provide houses for wounded soldiers who qualified. Veterans submit an application to be considered for the program.
Wood lost his right leg while serving as an Army sergeant in southern Afghanistan in January 2007, when the vehicle he was riding in hit three antitank mines. In addition to injuring his leg, the blast crushed his pelvis, fractured his spine, and broke ribs that pierced a lung.
"I recognize faces of family and friends and other [vets] attending who went before [in previous wars] and paved the way for the treatment we get now," said Wood, choking back tears. "Those guys were treated poorly."
He said he was grateful to have a home for his family, which includes wife Stephanie and 4-year-old daughter Madeline.
"I want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart," he said.
He told the crowd that doctors at first told him he would never walk again, but after undergoing 84 surgeries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and
"I have the record for surgeries at Walter Reed on a single person," he said. "I've always said, go big then go home."
Brian Nichols, the general contractor on Woods' project, said he learned of Homes for Our Troops through the Iron County Homebuilders Association. Nichols got the project rolling, eventually finding 35 contractors to contribute material and services. He also secured cash donations, including $10,000 from the county's Board of Realtors.
Construction on Wood's house began last June.
"I wanted to give back to the people who have done so much for us and the country," said Nichols, who owns Nichols Building in Cedar City. "There has been an amazing level of generosity. It was easier than I expected."
Two other Utah veterans, both wounded in Iraq, have received houses through Homes for Our Troops.
Gordon Ewell lives in Eagle Mountain in Utah County, and Bryant Jacobs just recently moved into his house in Herriman.
Jacobs, who met Wood at Homes for Our Troops at the nonprofit's headquarters in Taunton, Mass., attended Friday's ceremony.
"Like Travis, when my house was being built, I drove out to the site to meet the people involved with building the house and thank them," said Jacobs, who was wounded in 2004.
Tom Benoit, vice-president and CFO for Homes for Our Troops, also attended Friday's event and said the organization has provided 44 homes across the country with another 30 under construction. The homes cost an average of $300,000.
To qualify, a soldier must be injured in combat after 9/11. The most severely injured veterans get priority.
Benoit said his organization gives people a tangible way to help soldiers who sacrificed so much.
"They did theirs, and now we can do ours," he said.
Wood's wife, Stephanie, said the family can't wait to move into the house from their apartment.
"I'm happy and grateful and have been a wreck for days," she said. "It is all so beautiful and we have so much to be grateful for."
