Construction starting on house in Tuftonboro custom built for injured combat veteran

Army Cpl. Paul Hedge was shot multiple times when his parachute infantry regiment was attacked in Afghanistan on June 1, 2012. His initial instinct was to start cracking jokes as fellow officers came to his rescue, but the incident tore apart his body — and then his life.

Hedge, living into his first combat deployment, had just eaten lunch and was walking out of the mess hall when he heard a loud bang.

“The whole building was caved in around me,” he said, recalling the insurgent attack on Forward Operating Base Salerno. “The attack was initiated with vehicle IED — several thousand pounds of homemade explosives, followed by two vans full of insurgents. They were just firing on us from multiple directions. It was hard to really pin down when and who to engage.”

As Hedge was moving from position to cover, he was hit in his left leg. He spun around and was then shot in the right. He suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and shrapnel wounds to his upper and lower body, as well as tinnitus and traumatic brain injury.

He hasn’t felt safe since. He has mobility issues and has been living in a condominium in Fort Collins, Colorado, with multiple staircases and an unaccommodating bathroom. He doesn’t leave the house much. It’s too big of a challenge.

Help from Homes for Our Troops

Thanks to an organization Hedge found while scrolling on Instagram, he will be moving to Tuftonboro after a house built by Homes For Our Troops — specifically suited to his particular needs — is complete.

The official commitment will come during a community kickoff event sponsored by the organization at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Kingswood Arts Center in Wolfeboro. Celebratory and emotional, these events make an introduction to the veteran’s new community.

“This is a critical event that helps rally support within the community that the veteran has chosen to build his or her forever home in,” said Lisa Duffy, a writer and editor for Homes For Our Troops. “Paul will receive the keys to his home at the key ceremony event in the future when the home is officially move-in ready.”

Hedge is looking forward to the event. “I’m a little nervous, but mostly excited about meeting people from the community,” he said. “I’m elated about owning an adapted house. I’m also relieved to have a living space built around my needs in such a beautiful part of the country.”

About the home builder

A national nonprofit, Homes For Our Troops was started in 2004 by a Massachusetts general contractor who offered to build a Massachusetts Army National Guard soldier a specially adapted custom home. The soldier, injured in Iraq, agreed to the gift on the condition the contractor do the same for other injured veterans.

Since then, Homes For Our Troops has built over 416 homes in 45 states, with another 69 projects underway nationwide.

Headquartered in Taunton, Massachusetts, the organization is a publicly funded 501(c)(3).

President and CEO Brig. Gen. Tom Landwermeyer says the homes are custom tailored to each veteran’s needs, and so, they restore their freedom and independence, and renew future aspirations.

“It is our country’s duty to care for these troops and their families who voluntarily served and sacrificed greatly so the rest of us could continue to enjoy our daily freedoms,” he said. “We are proud and honored to help repay a very small portion of a debt that can never be fully repaid to these veterans.

“In my 33 years in the Army, our No. 1 responsibility as a leader was to take care of our troops. This is just taking care of troops in a different way, and I don’t think we can do enough for these severely injured veterans and their families.”

Military service

A guitar player from Wisconsin, Hedge was inspired to join the military because he needed the discipline and the challenge.

“I didn’t necessarily expect to fall in love with the infantry, but I had a blast the whole time,” he said. “I loved basic [training]. I loved Airborne School. I loved being in my unit.”

His injuries from the insurgent attack required limb salvage — a surgical procedure to preserve a limb at risk of amputation due to severe trauma. While Hedge’s legs were saved in this way, he is still severely challenged for mobility.

“Limb salvage is a misunderstood injury to civilians,” he said. “When you don’t have two below-the-knee prosthetics, people assume your injury is not that bad. It’s a frustrating experience, as well as painful and sometimes discouraging.”

The promise of a new home has given him new hope.

“I’m feeling like I can let go of a clenched fist and a clenched jaw I feel like I’ve had for over a decade now,” he said. “I’m grateful to donors and supporters. It’s the biggest gift you can give somebody.”

To donate or learn more about Home For Our Troops, visit hfotusa.org.