When Corporal Jonathan Bartlett, the 23-year-old veteran who lost both legs in the Iraq war, toured the home being built for him in Martinsville through Homes for Our Troops, he was speechless, according to a report by the Martinsville Bulletin.
“I’m really at a loss for words. I’m really humbled,” Bartlett told employees at the Nationwide Custom Homes plant on Wednesday morning, where a 1,475-square-foot, handicapped-accessible home is being built for him and his wife at no cost to them.
“Thank you. This isn’t just a house for me; this is a home,” Bartlett said.
Homes for Our Troops is a non-profit organization that provides homes to military personnel with severe injuries or disabilities sustained in active-duty wartime. Tidewater Modular Homes of Virginia Beach teamed up with Nationwide to provide the house for Bartlett, which will be set on its foundation in Chesapeake on Veteran’s Day Nov. 11.
Bartlett, who currently lives in Norfolk, came to Martinsville on Wednesday for a reception at Nationwide. He toured his future home in progress, stepping through the rooms on a $110,000 pair of prosthetic legs.
“I love the house,” he said. “Wow, you could play tennis in this thing!” he said as he viewed the master bathroom. The ranch-style modular home has an open floor plan, wide hallways and doorways and is Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant.
Courtesy Charles Bevier, Building Systems Magazine and Kim Barto, Martinsville Bulletin