JONESTOWN

Gov. Rick Perry today joined Dan Wallrath, founder and president of Operation Finally Home, and Jonestown Mayor Deane Armstrong to break ground on a brand-new, mortgage-free home for U.S. Army Spc. Augustine “Augie” Pena and his family, provided by Operation Finally Home, Silverton Custom Homes and Henley Homes.

“I am always humbled and amazed at the generous, caring nature of the people of Texas and their steady devotion to our long tradition of neighbor helping neighbor,” Gov. Perry said. “On this site will stand another fine example of the spirit of selfless compassion, manifested in a new home for Spc. Pena. He represents the American hero who always answers the call to defend freedom and the American way.”

Spc. Pena joined the Army Reserve in 2007, and was deployed to Iraq in 2009. After returning home, he remained in his reserve unit in St. Louis and enrolled in college in Chicago. While on his way to St. Louis to report for duty on Nov. 25, 2010, Spc. Pena stopped to assist another motorist with a flat tire and was hit by a drunk driver. The accident left Spc. Pena as a paraplegic.

Created by Bay Area Builders Association Support our Troops in 2005, Operation Finally Home partners with corporate sponsors, individual contributors and volunteers to help wounded and disabled veterans and their families transition from the battlefront to the home front by providing custom-made homes. To date, Operation Finally Home has completed 25 projects, with an additional 18 under way.