Photo By Spc. Luciano Alcala | U.S. Army retiree Keysia Calmese, left, receives the keys for her new home from Matt...... read more read more
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RICHMOND HILL, Ga. – Sgt. Keysia Calmese served her country for 14 years before being honorably discharged in 2016 for injuries. Her valor and commitment to her country made her the perfect candidate for The Building Homes for Heroes Foundation, which builds mortgage free homes and gifts them to injured veterans to help improve their lives. Calmese celebrated a new beginning for her and her daughter, one day before Veterans Day on Nov. 10, 2023, as she received the keys to her new home and cherished the opportunity of a brighter future.
Calmese joined the military, out of Jacksonville, Florida in Jan. 2002. She deployed three times, which included a deployment to Baghdad in 2003 during the start of the Iraq War. While there, she sustained major injuries to her back and knees from being tossed inside a 5-ton truck after her convoy came under attack from enemy fire. Calmese suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after she lost her close friend in a firefight during the same deployment.
“The day before he got killed, we were supposed to have breakfast, but he never showed up,” said Calmese. “I found out a couple days later, when I looked at the newspaper and saw Chris’s picture. I lost it.”
Despite her hardships, Calmese pushed forward with her indomitable spirit and continued to build a brighter future for herself and her daughter.
“I’m so proud of her that she went and served her country, and she had a beautiful daughter,” said Wilma Roberson, Calmese’s mother. “She came back and went back to school and got her degrees, and it made me and my husband so proud.”
Calmese overcame her challenges while keeping her smile and radiant energy around her, something that moved Tonja Flanagan, the senior Home Owner Association and Department of Real Estate manager with PulteGroup.
“She’s overcome hurdles that were thrown her way, and she keeps looking at everything in a positive light,” said Flanagan. “She keeps moving, one foot forward and moving herself in a better direction.”
On the day of the event, friends, family and those involved with the construction of the house gathered outside of the completed home and eagerly awaited for the arrival of Calmese. They lined up on both sides of the street, with red, white, and blue flags on hand, ready to welcome Calmese to her new home. When Calmese finally showed up, she rode inside a golf cart with her daughter and Cody Brannon, the construction and events manager with Building Homes for Heroes. A smiling and cheerful crowd, who were all excited and happy to be part of Calmese’s new chapter in life, welcomed them.
After some brief words by Calmese and some of the people involved with the completion of the project, Calmese prepared to enter her new home for the first time.
Calmese was filled with joy when she opened the door and saw her new beautiful two story home filled with all new appliances, cabinets and furniture.
“I'm just truly grateful and thankful,” said Calmese. “I did not expect this, and it's truly a blessing from God. I'm just grateful for everybody involved, and I just want to tell them thank you. Words cannot express the way that I feel and the gratitude that I have for everyone involved.”
| Date Taken: | 11.10.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.16.2023 09:02 |
| Story ID: | 457912 |
| Location: | RICHMOND HILL, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Veteran Celebrates Her Mortgage Free Home, by SPC Luciano Alcala, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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