Group makes vet feel at home

Staff Sgt. Roy A. Mitchell said he fought for his country's freedom while he was a soldier with the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team.

By the six-year anniversary of the day Sgt. Mitchell's Humvee hit an antitank mine near the Pakistani border — an explosion that claimed part of his left leg — the veteran and his family said they will again know what freedom feels like.

"They say freedom isn't free, and it's really not," said Sgt. Mitchell's wife, Michelle C., after listing the many challenges her husband faces daily.

But the new Carthage-area home the family plans to move into this fall is free, thanks to Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit organization that builds handicapped-accessible houses for wounded veterans.

Although life for the Mitchells has changed dramatically, their Fort Drum ranch home hasn't.

"It's not bad; it's what they call 'handicap adaptable,'" Sgt. Mitchell said. "But it's definitely not to the caliber that I need to be functional throughout the day."

Sgt. Mitchell, a career counselor with the 1st Brigade, tried to stay positive about his on-post home, but there were few rooms he didn't mention when talking about his daily mobility issues. He can't cook in the kitchen because he can't see the contents of pots on the stovetop. Mrs. Mitchell worries about him falling when he has to transfer from his wheelchair to the shower in the master bathroom.

"My wife's biggest fear is me slipping and falling in the shower," he said.

His children, Zaccary M., 16, Anthony D., 14, Megan L., 13, Jerrett M., 6, and Serenity E., 4, have to move furniture and clean their rooms before he can come in to play games with them.

"I'm going to be able to be included in more activities," Sgt. Mitchell said.

The children also hope to have their own bedrooms once they move into the new house. The on-post house has only four bedrooms.

Mrs. Mitchell said that although ground hasn't been broken, the house already is making life easier.

"If we are anxious or apprehensive, our children pick up on that, and they can already tell the difference within us because we're freed from that anticipation of 'will we be able to get a home?'" she said. "Now it's, 'We are going to get a home.' It's already a relief for them."

Sgt. Mitchell is looking forward to an open floor plan that will give him room to easily maneuver his wheelchair around the house, along with a roll-in shower to eliminate the dangers of transferring. The kitchen will have a stovetop that he can slide his chair under, and cabinets will be within reach.

"When it comes to daily activities, this house is going to provide more of a streamlined lifestyle," he said, "something everyone else enjoys without hindrances."

The house will be built between Carthage and Natural Bridge — a location that reminds the couple of their hometowns in Indiana, and a place where many of their military friends have retired.

"Just to get off post and get out into the community we're going to retire in," Sgt. Mitchell said over the phone while visiting family in Indiana before traveling to Washington, D.C., for his next surgery, "that's what I'm looking forward to."

Anyone interested in donating materials, time or money to the Mitchell family's house should go to the dedicated Web page, where there is a list of 42 ways to donate, or call 1 (866) 787-6677.

Sgt. Mitchell said construction will go on even without donations for all aspects of the project, but the more that is donated, the less Homes for Our Troops has to spend on his project.