By Mary Malloy
So, the next morning, he loaded up his truck with supplies and headed toward Manhattan. He didn't know what to expect, but he needed to be there.
"I was the only car on the road, except for police vehicles," Pujol recounted. "When I got to the Lincoln Tunnel, there were just soldiers with M16s guarding the tunnel." Pujol said that he navigated his way to what was already being called ground zero, or "hell here on earth" as he describes it - unsure of what to do next.
Because he was one of the first people to arrive, the Port Authority police dressed him in boots and a mask and pointed him toward the rubble. Pujol, an Island Park resident and the owner of an international transportation company, was on a search-and-rescue mission in the middle of Manhattan.
"There were thousands of workers - some were already cutting steel from the remains of the buildings," Pujol said, grimacing as if he could still hear the sound of metal being sheared. "Others carried people to waiting ambulances. I broke down crying, and said to myself that I would never forget this - and that I would do something, someday, to honor these people."
Pujol said he has never forgotten the sense of community he felt that day. "If there is one good thing that could have come out of this disaster, it was that feeling of brotherhood," he said. "The whole country was one community."
Pujol helped out with humanitarian charities after that, but was frustrated because he couldn't connect a human face with where his money or his efforts were going, he said. He wanted connection. Out of his frustration, Building Homes for Heroes was born.
It started when he thought of building a house for a severely injured man or woman returning from war. Then Pujol found Pete Herrick, a Navy reservist from Fort White, Fla., who had been stationed in Fallujah, Iraq. On Herrick's very first mission, his unit came under mortar attack, which left five members of the platoon dead and 33 wounded. A piece of shrapnel lodged in Herrick's lung and another caught him in the neck, damaging his spinal cord and leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. He returned to the U.S. attached to a ventilator, with multiple wounds in his right arm and leg and with his left leg so badly mangled that it eventually had to be amputated. Pujol helped to raise $65,000 so Herrick and his family could have a specially equipped van and their mobile home could be remodeled with widened doorways, a roll-in shower and a portable lift to help Herrick get in and out of bed.
"I can honestly say that we're now living in our dream home," Herrick said. "I can't say thank you enough. The home has helped us deal with my recovery and my family's well-being. Groups like Building Homes for Heroes make a tremendous difference in the lives of so many. I hope that my story can help other men and women of the military get the help they need."
The organization has helped build three more houses for severely injured military personnel returning from war. Based in East Rockaway, it sponsors 5K runs, golf outings and other fundraisers. "I'm in communication with the injured every day," said Pujol. "Sometimes we guide them to other places who can help them more. Our Web site is linked now with those of government agencies."
Pujol and his board of directors meet quarterly to discuss the operations of the nonprofit organization and to decide who it will help next. "We are looking at a young man now - he lost both of his legs, and he's blind," Pujol said.
For now, board members try to keep the list of those they want to help to Long Island soldiers. "We get builders, or people volunteer to do it," Pujol said of the construction process. "We see the blueprints, we know what is going on at each step of construction. It's very rewarding."
Most of the volunteers come from East Rockaway, thanks in part to a Building Homes for Heroes supporter, J. R. Martinez, 24, who spoke at the high school earlier this year. Martinez was badly injured in Kabul, Iraq, in April of 2003, when a Humvee in which he was riding drove over a land mine, which exploded, engulfing him in flames as he was trapped inside. Martinez has undergone more than 30 surgeries, yet he still travels around the country as a speaker.
"We need more people who can start their own 5K runs, host their own golf outings," said Pujol, "so they can do it on behalf of us. They will always know where their money is going. They can put their arms around that family."
As of now, Building Homes for Heroes helps one family at a time. "My dream was to build one home," Pujol said. "My next goal is to build 10. We don't have to let politics divide everything we feel inside. We need to continue with our community spirit and our patriotism."
Comments about this story? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
