Dan Wallrath is at the forefront of something extraordinary. Nearing retirement after decades as a successful custom home builder in Texas, he responded to God’s persistent tug on his heart and founded Operation FINALLY HOME. His organization provides custom built homes, free of charge, to injured service members and their families.
Dan takes us inside the staggering challenges that injured service members and their families face when they return to civilian life.
“It’s just unimaginable what these young men and women go through. They’re trained to do a certain thing – to be a warrior. To serve overseas, and see unimaginable things.”
“Then, when they get injured, they’re just kind of, and I hate to use the term, but it’s almost like they’re just cast aside. There’s no retraining. There’s no turning off that switch. They’re just, all of a sudden, with the technology and travel and things we have today, one day they’re on the battlefield. The next they are home. I mean, this is just an incredible transition.”
“The young people that go through it, with the medical technologies today, we’re building a home for double, triple, or quadruple amputee veterans. You know, back in Vietnam, these young men just wouldn’t make it, but now they are surviving these devastating injuries.”
For those who have paid such a high price for their commitment to serving their nation, their financial situation when it comes to buying a home is particularly precarious.
“These young folks, without our help, will never receive a home. This is one thing a lot of folks don’t realize. A disability income is not considered ‘stable income’, so they would never qualify for a home mortgage. So the ones that give so much, that sacrificed so much, can never acquire the American dream they fight for us to have.”
Dan Wallrath is the founder of Operation FINALLY HOME – an extraordinary ministry that builds free custom homes for injured returning service members and their families. He’s penned the new book .
On the Road with Dan Wallrath
