Issue Date: July 5, 2009

They help our heroes

This Independence Day weekend, we celebrate Americans whose good deeds will live long after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are history.

By Dennis McCafferty

Building hope
Several years ago, Boston-area builder John Gonsalves saw a TV news report about a young man who lost both of his legs in Iraq. Gonsalves had to do something: He wanted to contribute to whatever organization was out there to build housing for these soldiers. But he couldn't find such a group. So, in 2004, he started one of his own.

The first soldier he helped was Peter Damon, from Middleboro, Mass. Damon was serving with the National Guard in Iraq when he and a buddy had to fix a tire on a helicopter. The tire inexplicably exploded, severing both of Damon's arms and killing his friend.

Says Gonsalves, 43: "The house has everything Peter needs -- keyless entry, kitchen cabinets that are easier for him to open and a shower where water sprays out of the wall for him."

To date, Gonsalves' Homes for Our Troops has built or is building more than 70 homes; two were featured in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episodes. Various houses have featured roll-in showers, motorized lifts, and expanded hallways and kitchens to allow those in wheelchairs to navigate more easily, among other special features.

"The wounded people who receive these homes tell us that this is something that will change their lives forever," Gonsalves says. "They've gained much more independence. They're able to get on with everything else in their lives."

Homes for Our Troops (homesforourtroops.org) builds houses for soldiers who have been wounded.

Inspiring a new generation
It seems Pat Tillman was destined to be more than a football player. He graduated with honors from Arizona State University in just three and a half years. He loved nothing more than an intellectually rigorous debate. He often spoke of the bravery of men who died at Pearl Harbor and his need to make a lasting contribution to society.

Then, in May 2002, Tillman -- who made more than $1 million a year as a safety for the Arizona Cardinals -- quit his job to go fight in Afghanistan. Tillman's loved ones weren't surprised by his choice. "His decision very much reflected who he was," his widow, Marie Tillman, 32, tells us in a rare interview, "and who he wanted to be."

The entire world would learn the rest of the story -- how Tillman joined the elite Army Rangers with his brother Kevin and was killed on April 22, 2004, in what eventually was ruled as death from "friendly fire." He was 27 years old.

The Tillman family since has launched the Pat Tillman Foundation to create scholarships for men and women who serve and their family members. This summer, the foundation will award $650,000 in scholarship funds to veterans and their dependents. The foundation also has provided leadership guidance to students to take on community outreach.

One such student, John Bailon, returned from Iraq in late 2005. Now, he's working with teens in his hometown of Shiprock, N.M., to encourage them to go to college.

Bailon, 26, recalls being treated "like a warrior" when he returned from Iraq. "But what does it mean to be a warrior?" he asks. "The Tillman program taught me to focus on the inner self."

Says Marie Tillman: "Pat was always talking about what kinds of efforts can really make an impact in a community. But he was also about taking action. We wanted this foundation to be a genuine reflection of his life."

After football star Pat Tillman made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan in 2004, his widow, Marie, and family members were determined to make sure that his legacy will endure.

Pat Tillman Foundation (pattillmanfoundation.org) awards scholarships and encourages community outreach.Honoring the fallen

While serving three tours in Iraq with the Oklahoma Air National Guard, Maj. Dan Rooney had a perspective of war from high above: He was an F-16 fighter pilot supporting ground troops. It wasn't until 2006, when he was back home taking a flight from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Mich., that the cost of conflict really hit home.

After the plane touched down that night, the pilot announced to the passengers that a hero was on board. That hero was Cpl. Brock Bucklin, who died in Iraq. Bucklin's twin brother, Brad, also was on board, accompanying the body. The pilot asked the passengers to remain on the plane until Bucklin's body had been taken off. Rooney dutifully complied, and he looked outside his window to see the young man's family greeting the casket.

"For 45 minutes, I could not leave my seat," says Rooney, 36, who is also a pro golfer on the PGA Tour. "I was watching a family welcome a fallen son on the darkest night of their lives."

He yearned to help, so he launched a scholarship effort for families of fallen or wounded soldiers. He started Patriot Golf Day on Sept. 1, 2007. Golfers across the country donated an extra $1 to their greens fees -- and many made additional donations on their own -- to raise $1.1 million for what has become Folds of Honor. Since then, a total of $3.5 million has been raised, and about 500 scholarships have been awarded. Most of the funds come from the annual golf event.

"We provide scholarships to family members, no matter how young or old they are," Rooney says. "Can you imagine how hard it is to live life when you've had a loved one killed or wounded at war? All we're looking to do is give them a little boost."

Folds of Honor (foldsofhonor.org) awards scholarships to families of men and women killed or wounded while serving.

Maj. Dan Rooney, a PGA professional, launched Patriot Golf Day to raise scholarship money for families of fallen or wounded soldiers.

Linking family
In 2003, John Harlow learned that a soldier in Iraq piled up a $7,000 phone bill as he tried to stay in touch with family. Just months later, Harlow's Freedom Calls Foundation was launched to set up 2,000 videoconferences a month for families, free of charge.

"Wives say, 'On the phone, I really don't know how he is,'" says Harlow, 60, of Morristown, N.J. " 'But in a videoconference, I see his body language and demeanor, and I know he's OK.' Our soldiers are able to 'come home' and tuck their kids into bed at night."

Freedom Calls Foundation (freedomcalls.org) provides a way for families and troops overseas to communicate for free.

Thanks to Freedom Calls, Sgt. Nick Jensen of Racine, Wis., "met" his son, Parker, last August as Jensen's wife, April, cradled the newborn.

Remembering the brave
In 2003, artist Kaziah Hancock painted in her living room in Manti, Utah, when she heard a radio broadcast of a funeral. The service was for a Marine from her home state, killed in Iraq. "He lived about 150 miles north from me, and I had tears streaming down my face," says Hancock, 61. "The war, which seemed so far away, had hit home, playing out on the radio."

Hancock is now determined to paint oil portraits -- each one 18 by 24 inches -- of every man and woman who dies while serving, to present to the next of kin. One of the first soldiers she painted was the young man she heard about on the radio, James W. Cawley, from Roy, Utah. She and other volunteers have painted more than 1,550 portraits since then. "Not all have died in combat," she says. "We don't distinguish when it comes to serving overseas or stateside, in war or peace."

Many families find out about her Project Compassion because foundation information is included in the service packets they receive as part of the death notification process. Then, all they have to do is mail Hancock a few photographs, and the painting will be completed in about one month.

"I get stacks of cards and letters," she says. "They usually say, 'We were worried that he'd be forgotten. Now, we know he never will be.' "

Project Compassion (heropaintings.com) provides oil portraits of fallen soldiers to family members.

Vicki Kriz and Allyson Dickman contributed to this report.
Cover photograph of Maj. Dan Rooney by Scott Raffe for USA WEEKEND