Marine Sgt. Steven Kiernan

By Rayne Wolfe - Press Democrat
March 30, 2009

Good news from the home front for Marine Sgt. Steven Kiernan of Petaluma. A Marine since 2005, Kiernan was just weeks into his first tour of duty in Iraq when he was severely wounded March 11. An explosion in Fallujah cost him his legs.

Although Kiernan has visited Sonoma County several times since his accident, he is still undergoing therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. He plans to continue to live and work on the East Coast.

That's where non-profit, non-partisan Homes for Our Troops comes in. Kiernan has been chosen as a future home recipient.

The group assists severely injured service men and women and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor and then coordinating the process of building a new home or adapting an existing home for handicapped accessibility.

The finished home is then given to the veteran.

The Kiernan Project Registration Day is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14 from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Women's Memorial Gateway to Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Those interested in supporting the Kiernan home building effort can get pledge information by e-mailing mel@homesforourtroops.org.

In case you're wondering how the Petaluma High graduate is doing on his two new prosthetic legs, Kiernan is preparing for college and enjoys playing golf and poker. He recently gained his SCUBA diving certification and has participated in a recumbent bike race.