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THOMASVILLE — Local troops, aka volunteers, were deployed on a very special three-day mission last week.

Their Build Brigade assignment: Frame, side, roof, and install windows and doors in the 2,600-square-foot home that nonprofit Homes For Our Troops is providing for Army veteran Sgt. Joey Smith, his wife, Debbi, and their children. The Massachusetts-based organization builds houses for veterans severely injured in military service since Sept. 11, 2001.

The objective of the 100-plus volunteers was reached earlier this week. The roof is on the house and interior work under way, according to Scott Beane of Trinity-based Beane Construction. Beane, president of the High Point Area Builders Association, is serving as general contractor for the project and ensuring “the house is built per North Carolina building code and per the house plan.” Completion of the interior and finishing work is expected by May, he said.

The Smiths are eagerly anticipating moving into the home, which will have a number of special features designed to make it easier for Sgt. Smith to navigate in his wheelchair.

“This house is going to give me independence and make my life a lot easier,” Sgt. Smith said during the Build Brigade.

The features include easily accessible appliances that will allow him to take on tasks many may take for granted.

“He’ll be able to cook and that’s great,” Debbi, 41, said. And “I can do my own laundry,” Sgt. Smith, 40, added.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is on a nearly one-acre lot and features a
bonus room, a 676-square-foot garage, and front and back porches. The home will have hard-surface floors; 36-inch wide doors; grab bars strategically placed throughout the home; special-height toilets and a roll-in shower; as well as a lift system to help Sgt. Smith get in and out of his wheelchair.

The garage, which will be insulated and have electrical units, will be Sgt. Smith’s “man cave” and workout room, complete with a weight system and boxing bags he already uses, as well as a television and a couple of pieces of furniture “for him and his buddies,” Debbi said. “And if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to put some tools out there.”

The site and foundation for the Smiths’ one-level home in the Whispering Woods subdivision were prepared earlier this month. The Smiths currently live in a 1,300-square-foot home in Shelby that doesn’t have any of the features Sgt. Smith has needed since he was injured more than six years ago in Afghanistan. The family’s move to Thomasville also will put them closer to Debbi’s family, a support network they’ve found is critical.

The community assistance has been overwhelming, Debbi said. Her husband spent four years in military hospitals from Germany to Hawaii and was living in a Veterans Affairs facility in Augusta, Ga., when they met in 2007. Separated from family and friends by great distances, he had no visitors.

But the visitors came out in full force from the Triad and beyond for the building kickoff.

Terri Bryant of High Point found out about the event on Facebook. “I felt this was one small way I could give back,” she said of her support.

Sgt. Serge Ziegler also wanted to help those injured while in service to their country, so the Fort Bragg-based soldier gathered a few volunteers from his platoon. The group traveled to the Triad to lend a hand for the three-day blitz.

N.C. National Guard members also donned hard hats to help build the Smiths’ home, and representatives from Patriot Guard Riders, Carolina Patriot Rovers, Blue Star Mothers of North Carolina and other groups were on hand.

The efforts started well before the kickoff and introduced the Smiths to a number of supporters. After their Homes For Our Troops application was approved last February, the organization spent months identifying a lot, assembling building volunteers and donations, and gathering contributions.

Aid for projects comes from foundations, companies, individuals, and community and veterans groups.

Lynn Angel with American Pride helped organize a fundraiser for the Smiths last fall in Greensboro. An event in September raised $3,400, which Angel presented to Homes For Our Troops personally, Debbi said. American Pride helps veterans with basic needs, such as paying rent and utility bills. Angel, an
Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, said they’ll keep going “as long as there’s a need.” The local group’s fourth Ride for a Vet will be held Sept. 10.

The experience with Homes For Our Troops also has been positive. “They go above and beyond what is necessary to make sure you are comfortable, that you get what you need as far as your house is concerned,” Debbi said.

In less than seven years, the Massachusetts-based organization has built approximately 100 specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans from all branches of the military. Qualifying veterans do not pay anything toward the cost of the home, and there is no mortgage to be paid in the future.

The organization offers four floor plans for families to choose from, according to Larry Gill, a veteran liaison with Homes For Our Troops who participated in the three-day build for the Smiths’ house. The homebuilding timeline is approximately 90 days, and the homes are valued at around $300,000. But that depends on where they’re built, as location affects land prices, Gill said. For example, a home in Louisiana may have a lower value than one in New York or New Jersey.

The nonprofit’s applicant guidelines align with the VA, Gill said. General requirements, according to the organization’s website, include loss or loss of use of both lower extremities; loss or loss of use of both upper extremities at or above the elbow; and blindness in both eyes, having only light perception, and loss or loss of use of one lower extremity.

Sgt. Smith’s spinal and brain injuries qualified his family for a Homes For Our Troops house. He was hurt in November 2004 while serving in Afghanistan. According to Homes For Our Troops, he was found beneath a 450-pound storage container that had been intentionally pushed from the roof of a storage trailer by two Afghan fighters. The impact nearly killed him.

“When he got hurt he was working as a forward observer,” Debbi said. “They call in the coordinates for the gunfire. It’s one of those jobs where you’re on the front lines.”

While his injuries have been life-altering, they haven’t held him back.

“Let me tell you something about Joe,” Debbi said. “He doesn’t slow down much.”

He now is an active participant in athletic events through Team Semper Fi, a rehabilitative sports program. He competes in archery, hand cycling, swimming and shooting. Debbi believes his experience as a competitive boxer before his injuries is benefiting him now. The two take part in activities together as well, most recently in the Marine Corps Marathon events on Oct. 31, 2010.

Sgt. Smith officially retired from the Army in 2008, and was serving in the Army during his 2004 deployment. But he’d also served in the Marine Corps. His careers in both branches kept him busy in war zones. He served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was deployed in the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, and was stationed on a ship off the coast of Somalia during the infamous Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.

His injuries require regular visits to VA hospitals for treatment, and Debbi said their new home will simplify what has become a complicated series of trips to four different facilities. The house in Thomasville will allow them easier access to VA hospitals in Winston-Salem and Durham, where her husband can seek regular treatment for his general health and brain and spinal injuries. “That will make it much easier on him — we travel a lot, let me tell you,” she said.

The home is a light at the end of a tunnel for the Smiths.

“For him in particular it’s been a very long journey,” Debbi said. But the support of Homes For Our Troops and the many volunteers they’ve met have made a difference. The supporters who came out for the Build Brigade “really renewed Joe’s faith in the American people,” she said.

Debbi and Joey Smith plan to give back, too.

“I am going to volunteer with as many groups as I can possibility volunteer with,” Debbi pledged. “I’m of the belief that you have to pay it forward. It you’re not paying it forward, you’re not taking care of your fellow man.”

“Joe is the same way — he wants people to know about the things that need to be changed,” Debbi said, particularly the way in which veterans navigate the VA system, which they hope can be made more efficient. He already volunteers with the Wounded Warrior Regiment, a Marine Corps group, and speaks with injured veterans.

One of Debbi’s first efforts will be serving as an advocate for Homes For Our Troops, an organization she credited with helping injured veterans retain their dignity in trying circumstances. “Anyone who knows anything about military men knows if they don’t have their independence, they get a little grumpy,” she said.