HANSON, MASS. (WHDH) - A single-leg amputee veteran was gifted a mortgage-free home in Hanson months after two juveniles vandalized the construction site.
Cpl. Paul Skarinka and his family anxiously received the keys to their mortgage-free home on Tuesday.
“I was nervous about moving in,” he said. “It looks so nice. We are really going to enjoy this.”
The home fits the needs of the Army veteran, who suffered life-threatening injuries during a 2004 Iraq tour.
Skarinka lost a leg and underwent a partial amputation of his left arm, making daily tasks more challenging.
His wife, Jennifer, says the house is a “dream home. It’s something you dream of. I never thought this would happen for us.”
The house marked the first in Massachusetts built by the Jared Allen’s Home for Wounded Warriors.
The former defensive end says he comes from a military family and this is a way to say thank you.
“Someone told me a long time ago you do not need to wear a uniform to serve and do the best…slice of it too,” Allen said.
The completion of the project was delayed several months after police say two juveniles vandalized the home in September, causing $50,000 worth of damage.
The setback didn’t stop crews from working around the clock.
“That was the moment that really galvanized the resolve,” Alex Karalexis, executive director of Jared Allen’s Home for Wounded Warriors, said. “It made everyone work harder faster and it was quite special.”
Allen has about seven more homes under construction, with the next reveal scheduled for a few weeks in Derry, New Hampshire.
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