Real American Hero

It's too rare these days that we see our real hero's rewarded for their service and valor. Too often we find ourselves so preoccupied with pop culture and reality television to notice the amazing sacrifices that are being made for our right to freedom and liberty. I know I have made this mistake numerous times. Chron.com has a wonderful story today about a marine who made a great sacrifice for his country, and who was rewarded for protecting our freedom.

Gates hands Marine keys to new house

“We're really low-key people, so this is kind of crazy,” said the 29-year-old Texas A&M graduate. She turned to her husband and fellow Aggie, Marine Corps Capt. Daniel Moran, with a stunned grin of her face. “This is, like, ridiculous.”

The couple — and the crowd lining the streets of their Cypress neighborhood — were awaiting the arrival of U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who came to the Houston area Monday to present Capt. Moran with the keys to his new home.

The four-bedroom brick house was custom built for Moran by Helping A Hero, a nonprofit that has constructed 14 homes for local disabled veterans since 2006.

Moran, 28, medically retired from the Marine Corps last month after being seriously injured during his second tour of duty in Iraq three years ago. Monday's event marked the fourth time he'd met Gates, who was president of A&M when Moran and his wife were students there.

As Gates recounted, he first shook hands with Moran when he handed the young man his diploma upon graduation from A&M. The second time, Gates was visiting injured service members at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where Moran was a patient.

“He asked me to personalize a graduation-day photo of us,” Gates recalled. “I was honored but, after meeting Daniel, I came away thinking I should be the one seeking an autograph.”

The third time was at half time of a Texas A&M football game in 2007, when the secretary of defense presented Moran with a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor in front of 80,000 screaming fans.

On Oct. 9, 2006, Moran suffered a concussion from the explosion of a homemade bomb in Ramadi, Iraq. Despite his injury, Moran urged doctors to let him return to his platoon. Less than two weeks later, another improvised explosive device killed three of his Marines and wounded Moran, who sustained third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body. The blast also seared the inside of his lungs.

Moran's new home has special air filters to protect his vulnerable immune system.

I urge everyone to go to the Helping a Hero website at the link below, and if it is within your means, make a donation to this wonderful organization today.

HelpingaHero.org