NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A retired Marine sergeant and Purple Heart recipient received a brand-new mortgage-free home in Nassau County on Tuesday.
The former service member is a recipient of PulteGroup’s Built to Honor Program — a nonprofit that builds homes for disabled veterans.
For the first time ever, Sergeant Matthew Perry and his wife Helen Perry entered their newly built and fully paid-off home. The couple was lost for words when they stepped inside.
“I don’t even think I have words to describe what this feels like,” Helen Perry said. “This is absolutely surreal.”
“I never thought that this would ever happen in my life,” Matthew Perry said.
The former U.S. sergeant served a little more than a decade in the Marine Corps before having to medically retire after suffering from a traumatic brain injury in Afghanistan. This injury changed his life and his family’s life drastically.
“I remember when Matt first went into the hospital I was sitting there totally overwhelmed and just trying to figure out how am I going to do all of these things,” Helen Perry said.
Thanks to the PulteGroup’s Built to Honor Program, his family has one less thing to worry about. The program builds homes for disabled veterans and this year Perry is a recipient.
The Vice President of PulteGroup Construction Operation said this is the best way to show gratitude for his service and sacrifices.
“I mean I can’t think of a more selfless act that a company could do and it’s just awesome to be a part of these projects,” Dan Reynolds, Vice President of Construction of Operations at PulteGroup, said.
What makes the home even more special is that is completely wheelchair accessible if Matt’s brain injury progresses leaving him with limited mobility.