War hero may find a home
Saturday, December 23, 2006
By: Terence J. Downing Enterprise staff writer

Homes for Our Troops is hoping for a Christmas gift for severely wounded Iraq war veteran, Sgt. Brian Fountaine of Dorchester, MA

By , TAUNTON — Homes For Our Troops founder and President John S. Gonsalves is hoping for a Christmas present, but it's not for himself.

It's for Army Sgt. Brian Fountaine, who lost both his legs from enemy bombs in Iraq.

The Taunton-based, nonprofit organization is hoping someone will donate good land on which to build a handicapped-accessible home for Fountaine, who is currently hospitalized at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Homes For Our Troops, which builds specially adapted homes for severely wounded troops, has been having trouble finding land, he said.

“We're really hoping someone will donate land for this project,” said Gonsalves, 40, of Raynham.

“There are a lot of big builders out there and it would be wonderful for someone to come forward and step up. It would be a great Christmas present for Brian,” Gonsalves said.

He said the organization is hoping to get the project started by the spring, but if land is donated it can start sooner.

“As soon as we get the land, we can start,” Gonsalves said.

Fountaine, 24, an Army sergeant, graduated from Whitman-Hanson High School in 2000 and volunteered for the military after the Sept. 11th terrorists attacks in 2001. He was on his second tour in Iraq when an explosive device blew up under the Humvee in which he was patrolling. He lost both his lower legs in the attack on June 8, and remains under treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Gonsalves said many of the contractors who were involved in the construction and furnishing of a new home in Middleboro for Army National Guard Sgt. Peter Damon of Brockton have already signed up to help in the new project for Fountaine.

“A lot of those companies have come back to help us. What we really need now is a site,” Gonsalves said.

Damon lost parts of both arms in Iraq.

Damon, his wife, Jenn, and two children, Allura and Danny, were the recipients of the first specially adapted home built by Homes For Our Troops.

Gonsalves said Damon has been instrumental in helping spread the word about Homes For Our Troops and its mission, as well as shedding light on the serious needs of other wounded service men and women once they return home from war.

The nonprofit Homes For Our Troops has undertaken 26 projects across the country, including 11 homes that have been completed. The remaining 15 are in various stages of completion. Some projects are renovations.

The company was featured on ABC's “Extreme Makeover” edition, which caught the attention of a Philadelphia builder and his wife, who donated to the most recent project in that area.

Gonsalves said the biggest cost his organization faces is buying land, but in some instances developers have donated land or offered it at steep discounts.

He said the group has also run into problems where land has too many engineering and zoning complications and hurdles to overcome, making it too costly.

If land is donated, it allows the organization to shift its limited budget to other costs involved with the project.

Gonsalves said Fountaine has found and taken on a new challenge for his life, that of becoming a firefighter, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

“This will not be easily accomplished. It is going to take a lot of time and an incredible amount of hard work, but we are confident that Brian will be the first person to reach this goal, and we are going to help in any way possible,” Gonsalves said.

Gonsalves said he would like to be able to call Fountaine during the holidays to tell him that someone has donated land for the project so it can start.

Homes For Our Troops recently partnered with a Philadelphia builder, The McKee Group, to donate the organization's 11th handicap accessible home to Army Sgt. Pisey Tan of Woodlyn, Pa., who lost both legs from bombs in Iraq. The home was completed this month.

Tan was deployed twice to Iraq. During his second deployment with the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, Tan's vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. The injuries suffered by Tan resulted in the amputation of both of his legs. He continues to undergo intense physical rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Hospital.