PASADENA, Md. — Many of us have family members or friends in the military and are grateful for their service. But there's one group that showed their gratitude to a veteran that was a stranger.
A good portion of these home depot volunteers are veterans.
Luis Rosa-Valentin picked a monumental day to join the army.
"My day one basic training was actually September 11, 2001," he said.
And with that ingrained in his heart he began his military career. On his second deployment, in Baghdad in 2008, after a major fire fight Rosa-Valentin found himself by a road side bomb.
"I was standing on top of it. I lost both my legs, my left arm, I'm completely deaf in both ears, I'm blind in my left eye," he explained.
And because of his service and the great sacrifice Luis has made for us, these workers are here to give back what they can. This is part of the Home Depot Foundation's Operation Surprise campaign. A "platoon" of soldiers showed up to take care of a few things.
Renovating the deck, new awnings, repairing outside doors and fixing the flag pole were the orders for this army of grateful Americans. Rosa-Valentin is beholden for the help. With a wife and four girls at home, Luis has his hands full.
He spends his free time with his art work.
The difficulties of a triple amputee are obvious and coming at a time when there is a lot of lawn maintenance to do. This was perfect timing.
Rosa-Valentin made our country a more safe place for us and now it's only fitting we make it a better world for Luis.