Inspiring
With members of the community, family and friends looking on, a young man who gave so much began to get something back last weekend.
With a few shovelfuls of dirt at a ceremonial groundbreaking, construction is underway on a specially adapted house for Marine Cpl. Brandon Rumbaugh, a 2007 graduate of Uniontown High School, who lost both of his legs during his second tour of duty in Afghanistan 2010.
The house is being built for him by Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit group formed in 2004 that has built 131 homes for post-9/11 veterans who have had life-changing injuries.
It was inspiring to see and a reminder of the terrible price the few are paying on behalf of all of us. Timothy McHale, president of Homes for Our Troops, encapsulated this concept on Saturday.
“This home is not charity, it’s a gift. It is, we believe, our moral obligation as Americans,” he said.
With the new home’s specific design, Rumbaugh’s day-to-day life should be much easier than in his current home.
“I have to crawl up the steps,” he said of his current home. “My bedroom is on the second floor.”
Rumbaugh’s new home will be on one level, with an extra-large two-car garage to accommodate a wheelchair-accessible van. All of the flooring is either tile or hardwood, McHale said, to make it easier for Rumbaugh to maneuver with his wheelchair or crutches. Even the electrical outlets will be higher than normal to make it easier for him to reach, and the sinks, counters and range are lower and have room for him to wheel his chair underneath them.
Rumbaugh said he found the experience to be overwhelming and thinks the new home will be “life-changing.”
“Now I’ll be able to focus on the important things in my life: school, work and maybe, eventually, a family,” Rumbaugh said.
Construction is expected to begin this week and be completed within 120 days according to contractor Brian Mahoney of Elements of Construction based in Cartersville, Ga. Mahoney and his business partner, John Winnenberg, said a management team from their company will be put into place to work with a local subcontractor and crew members. As the house nears completion, local volunteers will be invited to help with finishing touches such as landscaping.
Rumbaugh, whose friends say hasn’t changed his positive demeanor, is truly a hero — and it is inspiring to see the efforts of Homes for Our Troops are making on his behalf.