Homes For Our Troops is a non-profit organization that builds homes for wounded troops returning from war. This year, they picked a man who lost both his legs and right hip in Afghanistan.
They take each case individually, looking at the severity of injury and the need. However, Homes For Our Troops tells us when it came to U.S. Army Sergeant Timothy Hall from Hawthorne, Nevada, it was a no brainer.
Despite all he's been through, his attitude and humble heart stood out.
They said that was the qualification he needed to get his very own home.
The day was June 10, 2010. U.S. Army Sergeant Timothy Hall was six months into his first deployment, doing what he did once a week, getting some snacks near his forward operating base in Afghanistan.
That's when a mortar attack exploded just three feet from where he stood.
"It blew me back far,"Hall. "I had shrapnel go through my right hip and then part of my left leg was gone."
"Because of the severity of his injuries, he had both legs and his right hip amputated," said Hall's mother Tammy Hamrey.
Hall said it was tough to deal with at first, but he promises one mortar will not be the defining moment of his life or his attitude.
"It's the only way to take it or think about it. If you don't, you will crawl into a bottle or do something worse, so you just keep happy spirits and you'll be fine."
Now an amputee, Hall spends long days Monday through Friday at a military advanced training center in Maryland.
"We work on going around stuff in a wheel chair, working out and transferring," said Hall. "Pretty much anything I'll need to do, they'll help me do it."
As far as that big, bright smile and cheerful attitude, that's what landed him his very own home, free of charge.
"Tim is one of those people who as soon as you meet him, you love him. He's a humble kid," said Dawn Teixeira, the executive director of Homes For Our Troops. "Everything is on one floor with an open floor plan, so he can go in, roll around in his wheel chair and do everything he did before his injuries."
Friday, Hall was able to wheel onto the foundation of his soon to be home in Hawthorne.
Although he will never have his legs again, Hall said he has his friends and family here and now a home among them and that's all he could ever ask for.
"It's still hard for me to believe. I don't believe it's true yet. I just, it's one of the greatest things and I can't believe it," said Hall.
Hall hopes to be moved into his new home this November.
Written by Chris Ciarlo
