Marine Vet Gets a ‘Home for our Troops’

ORANGEVALE, CA (MPG) - Friends, family and the community of Orangevale celebrated the much anticipated homecoming for retired Marine Chief Warrant Officer 3, David Field, in a big way! First responders from Sacramento, Folsom, and a large contingent of Combat Veterans on their Harleys, escorted Fields from Dairy Queen in Orangevale to his newly built home near Casa Roble High School.

CWO3 Field arrived home to over 150 attendees including elected officials Congressman Ami Bera, M.D., Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, and Supervisor Sue Frost who all thanked David for his service of 22 years in the Marine Corps. His service included two conflicts in Desert Storm and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadrons.

“We’re so very grateful for your courage and dedication to our nation,” said Supervisor Sue Frost. “I want to say God bless ‘Homes for our Troops’ for the work they’re doing to improve the quality of life for our veterans. We know this home was carefully designed to make the quality of life for CWO3 Fields better. I want to challenge us all to support Homes for our Troops, who improve the quality of life for veterans one at a time!”

Homes for our Troops representatives became endeared to David when he reached out for assistance after being diagnosed with service-related ALS five years ago. The team worked tirelessly building David’s custom 2800 square foot home with specially adapted equipment and furnishings. The homecoming ceremony was a day many were looking forward to, especially David who gave a touching speech of what this has meant to him.

“I send a huge loving thank you to the staff and everyone,” said David in a pre-recorded message. “Veterans like myself who have received this type of gift are forever indebted to you. You have created a safe home for me and my caregivers. There are no words I can think of to describe how Homes for our Troops is changing lives. I have a disease called ALS. It has taught me to live each day to its fullest. I would like to say to everyone, try to live your best day today and everyday, make it the best.”

A special thanks was given to representatives from the community (to name a few) who assisted in fundraising, volunteering, and the day’s festivities. This included Dairy Queen, Casa Roble Jr ROTC presenting the flag, Action Day Learning Center shuttling guests to and from the ceremony, Darren Lang from Easystumps for displaying the giant American flag outside the home, Cathy Kurtz for taking photos, Sherwood Florist for donating a beautiful floral arrangement and the team from Orangevale Live for video support and live streaming the event.

This home is the 41st built in California, in addition they have built 328 across the nation since 2004. They rely on private donations from the public.

For information on how to support “Homes for our Troops'', go to www.hfotusa.org. And know that, ninety cents of each dollar goes directly to veterans assistance. To see the livestream of CWO3 Field’s homecoming go to Orangevale Live on Facebook or Youtube.