Wounded Marine gifted with new home in Pittsboro

PITTSBORO, N.C. (WTVD) -- Friday, community members gathered in Pittsboro to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new home of wounded Marine, Sgt. Michael Frazier.

The Gary Sinise Foundation's R.I.S.E. program and sponsors are honoring Sgt. Frazier's service with a smart home, customized for his disability.

"Words can't describe how I feel," Frazier shared. "It's absolutely an honor."

Patriot Guard riders and Chatham County Sheriff's deputies led Frazier, his wife, Monica, and their 1-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Sophia, to the site of their new home.

"When I first rolled up I think my jaw dropped," Frazier said. "And I was like 'Wow, that's a lot of people that came to see this.'"

Frazier lost both of his legs and much of the use on his right arm when he stepped on an IED five years ago. He served three deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Plans for the family's new home house in the Chapel Ridge community were unveiled Friday. Now an empty lot, it will soon turn into a 3,000 square foot, 4 bedroom, 3-and-a-half bathroom dream home.

Frazier told ABC11 it will change his everyday routine.

"From cooking, to using the restroom, from just pulling things down from the cabinet."

Monica, a nurse, worked at Walter Reed National Medical Center where Frazier was recovering. They are expecting their second child, a boy, in December.

"It's a blessing for my husband more so because it's him that has to worry about getting into different spaces," Monica said. "This is just a dream come true."