Pecan Square and much of the surrounding community turned out Saturday to welcome home U.S. Army Jonathan Merchant, who was gifted Building Homes For Heroes’ 300th mortgage-free home for military veterans.
Merchant had just returned from service in Bosnia when he suffered a quadriplegic spinal cord injury in a car wreck in 1999, according to a BHFH news release.
Doctors told Merchant, an Army specialist stationed at Fort Hood, that if he survived, that he could not expect to be self-sufficient. Instead, Merchant regained some feeling in his arms and became a competitive cyclist, swimmer and triathlete. He was the first quadriplegic to finish the half ironman distance in a race sponsored by Challenged Athletes Foundation, and now works as a certified life coach, inspiring others facing adversity.
Merchant retired from the Army after three years of service. He received many honors, including the Army Achievement Medal, NATO Medal, Hero of the Liberation Award, the Basic Training Badge and the Expert Infantry Badge.
At Saturday’s ceremony, 45-year-old Merchant and his wife Stephanie received an ADA-modified four-bedroom, three-bathroom home constructed by Highland Homes in the Pecan Square subdivision in Northlake. Hundreds of neighbors, local officials and first responders attended the event and welcomed the Merchants home.
“This unbelievable gift is more than just a home,” Merchant said. “It’s the freedom financially to start a family, physically to be able to grow our family. It’s the key to making dreams in our heart come to fulfillment and doing for us something we couldn’t do on our own.”
Building Homes for Heroes also announced that it will expand its nationwide program to provide mortgage-free homes to police, firefighters and other first responders, in addition to military veterans. The organization aims to gift its 343rd home around Sept. 11, 2023, in honor of the 343 members of the New York Fire Department who died on Sept. 11, 2001.
