Wounded N.C. soldier gets new house from fellow vets

FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. — A veterans group on Monday presented Sgt. Joey Bozik the keys to his new house four years to the day from when he was wounded in Iraq.

A roadside bomb in Iraq injured Bozik. The 26-year-old former sergeant with the 118th Military Police Company from Fort Bragg lost both legs and his right arm when an anti-tank mine exploded under his Humvee.

Paratroopers from Fort Bragg parachuted in Monday with the keys to his new home in Fuquay-Varina.

The house was built by Operation Coming Home, a group of military veterans who are now real estate agents and home builders. All the material and labor were donated.

The mission of "Operation Coming Home" is to provide injured war veterans with free houses that the group calls "Hero Homes." Bozik was the first recipient.

The home was built with special features to make Bozik's life easier, including radiant heat floors, easy-access cabinets, a sprinkler system and appliances with special hinges and levers that make opening doors easier.

Bozik and his wife, who is pregnant, moved in Monday, because Oct. 27 is also his "Alive Day" – the anniversary of the day he came out of a coma from his injuries.

Bozik, a Wilmington native, spent more than a year at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.