Mesa Marine receives custom-built house from wounded veterans group

On Nov. 15, Marine Sgt. Robert Bruce, a Mesa resident, received a rather large, early Christmas present: a newly built, custom-designed house donated by Homes for Our Troops.

Bruce lost both legs to an improvised explosive device while attempting to rescue a fellow Marine. He walks with the aid of prosthetic limbs, but uses a wheelchair as well. The new home is equipped especially for his convenience, with accessible features including a remote-controlled front door.

We at Homes for Our Troops do not believe giving a home to a severely injured veteran is charity, said Tim McHale, president of Homes for Our Troops, in a statement. We believe it is a moral obligation of our society. They fought to protect our freedom and independence, and we are now giving them back some freedom and independence by building them a specially adapted home.

The house was built by Arizona-based Taylor Morrison Home Builders, with the help of many other local companies who donated time, effort and supplies toward construction of the home in northeast Mesa.

Sen. Jeff Flake spoke, thanking Bruce for his service and congratulating him on his new home. Flake recounted a recent diplomatic mission to Cuba and related his experiences there to his appreciation for the sergeant and others like him.

Every time you touch down in Miami you have a little more gratitude, a lot more gratitude and a better sense of what it means to be in a free country, Flake said. And we owe that freedom to people like Sgt. Bruce.

A representative of U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon presented Bruce with an ensign which had been flown over the U.S. Capitol on his behalf.

Bruce and his wife Megan lived in an apartment previously, and he noted they will certainly be glad for the room as well as the amenities of the new house.

I look forward to getting into it and hosting barbecues for family and friends not having to crawl around on the carpet on hands and knees because theres not room to roll a wheelchair, Bruce said. Now Ive got lots of room.

A friend of Bruces, a Navy corpsman who served in Afghanistan with him, presented Bruce with a memento of his time spent overseas. A simple gift, it consisted of no more than the body armor plates Bruce was wearing at the time he was injured and which saved his life. The sight of the plates had a moving effect on the sergeant.

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Mesa Marine receives custom-built house from wounded veterans group