Wounded war hero gets keys to new home on 9/11 in Fuquay-Varina
FUQUAY-VARINA, NC (WTVD) -- Marine Corps Corporal Nathan Jakubisin smiled Thursday as he climbed out of a special VIP Humvee and shook hands with North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, who was there to hand the war hero the keys to his brand-new Fuquay-Varina home.
The house is mortgage free thanks to the work of dozens of volunteers along with Operation: Coming Home, Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb.
Jakubisin suffered severe leg and hand injuries in a bomb blast while on patrol in the Kajaki District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on June 9, 2012.
He was awarded a Purple Heart for his actions.
Paratroopers delivered a second set of keys to Jakubisin, gliding in to land on the street beside his house.
Gov. Pat McCrory sitting at the corporal's dining room table, reflected on the significance of presenting the home on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
"For 9/11 it's perfect," he said. "It's perfect - and to be in his home - it's an emotional event for this entire neighborhood and this entire state and for this governor. I'm proud of him. I'm proud of the people who made this happen too."
The two men who helped save Nate's life two years ago in Afghanistan, Jason Buikema and David Porter, were at the Key Ceremony.
"The way he dealt with the situation through that ordeal, his strength, has helped me out tremendously," said Buikema. "I look up to him like a brother."
Jakubisin cracked few jokes at the podium while thanking the volunteers who built his new home.
"I mean I don't wanna like hurt the neighbors or anything but I think it's the better one, you know" Jakubisin said, getting a roar of laughter from the crowd.
"Whatever you saw from his speech, that's exactly how he was even after the blast," said Porter. "He's just positive energy. He was making jokes. His will to live is what brought him to this point today. Not so much what we did. We just kinda helped sustain that energy. That's all it was."
Inside the front door is a room dedicated to Nate. His dress blues are displayed in a glass case on the wall. But when asked about his favorite room in the house, he didn't hesitate.
"I would say my son's room," he said. "Honestly. He is the most important thing in my life right now, and I lost it when I walked into my son's room. I mean all of them are beautiful, but my baby boy - he has his own room."
Operation: Coming Home is a joint volunteer project by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County (HBA), and various area nonprofits and businesses. The project builds and donates homes for disabled combat veterans who have served in the Middle East. More at: http://www.operationcominghome.com.
