SELMA, Texas – It took a little embellishment of the truth to get U.S. Army Sgt. David Reid in the right spot.
"They tricked me,” remarked a surprised Reid as he stepped out of a detoured SUV.
That surprise was a new home that is currently under construction. Reid knew he was in the running for a new house, but never knew the gift would come so soon.
"It’s amazing,” explained Reid, after getting a brief tour.
His wife, Veronica, was equally as surprised.
“I can't even contain myself to see the rest of it,” she said.
Part of the elite 75th Ranger Battalion, Reid served three tours overseas. He served one in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. In his final deployment in 2010, Reid was severely injured.
"I was stepping through a doorway while clearing a room and there was a booby trap, a pressure plate,” Reid said.
The pressure plate detonated, resulting in the loss of a leg for the decorated Army Ranger. After 11 surgeries and extensive physical therapy at the Center for the Intrepid, Reid quickly adjusted to using a prosthetic leg.
"There’s not a day that goes by that I don't think about my recovery, and it still is a process,” Reid said.
Now that process will hopefully be helped along by a mortgage-free, new home, created with a wounded veteran in mind.
In one of the more meaningful parts of Friday’s surprise were dozens of kind messages left behind inside the home as it was being framed. The messages, thanking Reid for his service, were written by Pulte Group employees and volunteers.Pulte Group, along with Finally Home, was responsible for making the donation possible. The special messages, written on the walls, will be sheet rocked into the home.
"It just goes to show you that there's a lot of love that goes into it and just amazing people,” said Reid.
Reid was honored with the Purple Heart, a Combat Infantry Badge, and both Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Ribbons. His next goal is to enroll in medical school.