Posted on 04/30/2005 2:38:38 PM PDT by Radix
MIDDLEBORO — Someone with sticky fingers has stolen more than $4,000 worth of equipment that was being used to build a home for a Brockton veteran who was wounded in a tire explosion in Iraq.
An upset Homes For Our Troops founder John Gonsalves said the theft of a generator, compressor and hammer drill was reported to Middleboro police Friday morning. He is asking that the equipment be returned.
"It's the wrong thing to do anyway, but hopefully if someone hears what that project was all about, maybe they'll find it in their heart to return the equipment," Gonsalves said.
Homes For Our Troops is building its first house for Sgt. Peter Damon of Brockton, who served with the Massachusetts Army National Guard 126th Aviation Unit as a helicopter mechanic. Damon, a father of two, lost his left hand and right arm in October of 2003 in a Blackhawk tire explosion accident in Balad, Iraq. The accident killed a 19-year-old National Guardsman from Alabama.
The three-bedroom ranch home, which will be specially equipped to meet Damon's needs, is the first the group is building, mostly with donations from all over the United States and around the globe.
Gonsalves said the generator, compressor and hammer drill were being stored in a container at the building site.
Work crews from the New England Regional Council of Carpenters have been using the equipment to provide power to the site until the electric system can be installed.
"We rented one for today and tomorrow because the whole job would have had to be shut down otherwise," Gonsalves said Friday night. "If somebody wants to return it, we'll do it no questions asked."
Homes For Our Troops broke ground on the home Dec. 19, 2004. Gonsalves said the construction has been tough because of the long winter. The framework of the house is nearly complete and the roofing is expected to start next week.
Damon, who was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. has returned home for good, Gonsalves said.
"It's been nice. He's been down at the site," he said.
Gonsalves plans to post a sign at the property notifying whoever stole the equipment that they took it from a project being built for a veteran.
Anyone with information regarding the theft is asked to call 508-823-3300. Information can also be left at www.homesforourtroops.org.
That stinks!
A good group.
http://homesforourtroops.org/
Northerners...
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