In Bakersfield, 9710 Fitzgerald Drive will be the new address of U.S. Marine Corporal Evan Morgan.
“We love the location,” said Julian, Morgan’s wife.
Morgan, 25, lost both legs and sight in one of his eyes while serving in Iraq.
His home will be built thanks to the patronage of Home for Our Troops, a non-profit organization that builds homes specially adapted for severely wounded veterans. Home for Our Troops gets help from Dave Packer, the general contractor and many volunteers. “People like Evan give so much to this country, so we got to give back to them,” said Armando Pena, a volunteer of Local 600 Cement Mixers. “We hope we can pour the foundation next Saturday, if the weather allows it.”
“It’s amazing what the people from Bakersfield are doing for me and my family,” said Morgan who is currently attending California State University, Bakersfield and is majoring in kinesiology.
All the labor and materials will be donated. Construction of Morgan’s home began on Feb. 16 after an emotional ceremony held at the lot of Morgan’s future home. The project is expected to be done in approximately six months or less, according to Rick Clark, superintendent of Dave Packer Homes.
Morgan arrived accompanied by his wife Julian, his daughter Sophie and escorted by 37 bikers, mostly veteran members of the Patriot Guard Riders.
“We are all so proud to be here for a comrade,” said J. Zimmerman who rode to Bakersfield from Encino, Calif.
During the ground-breaking ceremony, a couple of organizations recognized Morgan for his service to this country. ?Also, a trio of young men honored Morgan with a song that they wrote for him.
Scott Williams, 23, Paul Rose, 22, and Matt Walker, 21, are the creators of Trek for Troops. The three men from Westlake Village, Calif., are raising money for Homes for Our Troops.
“As college students, we are broke, and we can’t donate money, but we can donate our talents and time,” said Rose.The three friends attended high school together and were part of the choir. After high school, Williams joined the Navy where he developed the concern to do something to help the soldiers who come back injured.
That dream took shape when Williams and his two friends reunited and came up with a great idea to raise money and get attention for their cause.
Williams, Rose, and Walker are planning a trek that will cross the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, a 2,600-mile walk that extends from the Mexican border to the Canadian border crossing the states of California, Oregon and Washington. “We are planning to walk an average of 25 miles per day,” said Rose.
These guys have the goal of completing the hike in less than four months since they are just off for the summer. “We have the inspiration from the many guys that risk their lives for this country,” Rose said.
Their journey, they say, is not going to be a walk in the park, and they are training hard. “We are running seven miles every day,” said Williams. He laughed while mentioning that he had lost 30 pounds, most from his beer belly.
During their trek, they plan to make 26 stops to re-supply, one of them in Tehachapi. They hope to have the opportunity to perform and attract the media’s attention, which would help their purpose of raising money. “We are trying to raise money, but also we want to raise awareness,” Rose said.
The trio has a goal of $100,000, and they’ve currently raised $7,545.
The guys are also organizing different events to raise money as well as selling gear to get the funds for their hike. “We have done carwashes, singing door-to-door and we have a golf tournament coming on April 20,” said Rose.
The trek will begin in May just after college classes end. They plan to continue writing more songs during their journey. “I am going to miss the hike after we’re done,” said an enthusiastic Walker.
More information can be found at www.trekfortroops.com