Five members of the Flathead branch of Operation Finally Home dug into the dirt last week, breaking ground for the foundation of a custom-made home that will fill an empty lot in a subdivision off Three Mile Drive in Kalispell.
The home will have different meanings for different people. For the wounded veteran who moves in, it means that a mortgage is not something he or she will have to worry about. For the people building it, the house means, “Thank you, and welcome home.”
Operation Finally Home is a national organization that builds mortgage-free houses for wounded and disabled war veterans and widows of fallen soldiers. The Flathead branch, spearheaded by Terry Kramer, began working on its first house in the July heat, hoping to have it ready for the family by Thanksgiving.
“We’re really excited that this is a reality,” Kramer said, before digging into the lot.
He thanked the donors and volunteers for supporting the project, wearing a shirt that read, “War is Hell! Coming home shouldn’t be.” The group also heard a letter from Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg read aloud.
“Operation Finally Home speaks to the commitment of the Kalispell community to our returning veterans,” Rehberg wrote. “This unique initiative will demonstrate that we sincerely value the service of our veterans and is a real and substantial way to help them settle back into civilian life.”
Rehberg’s representative also gave the group a flag flown over the capital on Sept. 11, 2011.
Kramer said they plan on interviewing the applicants for the house soon, with about five veterans on the list. Operation Finally Home will also host a prime rib dinner at the Flathead Lake Lodge on Aug. 9 as a fundraiser for the organization. The guest speaker will be JR Martinez, a wounded veteran who won the television competition, “Dancing with the Stars” in 2011.
Tickets for that dinner are $50 and available at Three Rivers Bank and Glacier Bank locations. For more information on Operation Finally Home Flathead, visit the group’s Facebook page; join the mailing list by writing to [email protected]; or call Kramer Enterprises, Inc. at 257-0966.