North Merrick vet receives mortgage-free home

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As Marine Cpl. Kevin Vaughan entered his new home in North Merrick, a wide smile spread across his face. “Sweet!” he exclaimed, spreading his arms open, ready to embrace his future.

Hundreds of supporters, including his teary-eyed parents, Patricia and James Vaughan, gathered around his mortgage-free home on the morning of Nov. 7 to congratulate Vaughan and make him feel at home.

“I came to my hometown, and was greeted by family and friends and all the organizations and workers that built this amazing house for me,” Vaughan said in an online video. “I’m starting a new chapter in my life.”

Receiving his new home is a step in a long recovery process. After the vehicle he was traveling in hit an improvised explosive device while he was on his second tour in Afghanistan in September of 2011, doctors had to amputate his left leg, below the knee, and reconstruct his right leg with rods and screws. The road to recovery was hard, but with the support of friends, family and even strangers, Vaughan was able to carry on.

The Valley Stream-based non-profit organization Building Homes for Heroes gifted Vaughan his new home. According to an organization news release, the group has built hundreds of houses for wounded veterans across the nation; however, Vaughan’s home is the first to be built by the organization in the Town of Hempstead.

“I’ve had neighbors come out to work on this home for a year now,” Andy Pujol, founder and president of Building Homes for Heroes, said. “People kept coming up all the time and said, ‘What can I do to help?’”

Although many helping hands from Building Homes for Heroes constructed the 2,4500-square-foot Cape Cod-style home, many more helped celebrate by attending a parade to honor Vaughan. The Mepham High School band played patriotic tunes for Vaughan, who is a Mepham alumnus. Other groups in attendance included the Calhoun High School football and cheerleading squads, Civil Air Patrol 288, Merrick American Legion Post 1282 and Boy Scouts of America Troop 225 of Merrick.

Vaughan said he appreciated all the volunteers who took time out of their day to celebrate with him. The new home brings him security and peace of mind, he said. “I can travel now, I can focus more on my hobbies, I don’t have to work as much,” he said. “It’s endless. I can do anything.”