Contractors Volunteer to Build New Home for Severely Injured Marine

Last weekend in Tomball, Texas, a group of construction industry volunteers worked on building a new home for Lance Corporal Daniel Peterson, a Marine veteran who lost both legs in the war in Afghanistan.  The construction team, organized by SpawGlass under the auspices of Homes for our Troops, included volunteers from Marek Brothers Systems and Ryder Insulation Incorporated, who all contributed time and materials to help make this home a reality for this 22 year old hero.

Here is the story of the amazing veteran who gave so much for our freedom.

“While on his second deployment, Marine Special Forces, Lance Corporal Daniel Peterson was left a double amputee after an explosion in the Southern Helmand Province of Afghanistan on July 24, 2010. Returning from a classified mission, the Special Forces Team was making their way along a tree line while returning to base when a bomb exploded, hurling LCpl Peterson more than ten feet into the air.  Landing in the crater created by the explosion, Daniel immediately knew he was seriously injured.

“Suffering traumatic amputations to both of his legs, LCpl Peterson also had a fractured pelvis; the broken bones and shrapnel from the blast causing further internal injuries as he awaited aid.  Placing tourniquets on his own legs, LCpl Peterson was then treated by the Corpsman as his team carried him away from the tree line and prepared him for the MEDEVAC.  Initially transported to Camp Dwyer, a twenty minute helicopter ride, he was later airlifted to Landstuhl, Germany before beginning his treatments at multiple hospitals state-side including: Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Palo Alto Rehab Hospital, Balboa Naval Hospital, and Brooke Army Medical Center where he continues receiving therapies at this time.”

Homes for Our Troops built 100 homes last year and plans to build another 100 this year using donated time, materials and money.  This home for Lance Corporal Peterson is one of them.

In the following video produced by Homes for Our Troops, Lance Corporal Peterson talks about his injury and treatment, and the difficulties he faces living in a regular home.  The video also shows some of the design elements which Peterson’s new home will feature which will make it much easier for him to go about his daily life.



Last weekend, the house was ready for insulation and drywall.  Teams of volunteers from Marek Brothers Systems and Ryder Insulation Incorporated took on the task.  Over 20 volunteers arrived at 6:30 am on Saturday morning in the middle of a driving thunderstorm and set to work on the insulation and drywall.  This home will be an energy efficient smart home and will minimize Lance Corporal Peterson’s monthly bills.  The team that volunteered to work on the project normally work on commercial and luxury residential projects, so this home will be built to a very high standard of construction.

Watch for more blog posts on Construction Citizen including interviews with the volunteers, pictures, and videos of the construction in progress!