Soldiers assigned to 21st Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade, assigned to Fort Bragg, N. C. attend the key ceremony where Corporal Cody Stanton, formerly assigned to 21st MP Co., receives the keys to his home from Operation: Coming Home at Holly Springs, N. C. June 27.
“The home is given with no strings attached,” said Rich Van Tassel during the ceremony. “We only hope it will serve you here for many years to come.” Military police assigned to 21st MP Co. who were with Stanton at the time of his injury surround him in a show of support following the ceremony.
Cpl. Stanton was deployed with the 21st Military Police Co. from Fort Bragg’s XVIII Airborne Corps in November 2011. In January 2012, Stanton and his unit were training with Afghan police about three hours outside of Kandahar, Afghanistan, when he sustained severe injuries to both legs as the result of an IED explosion. Stanton was immediately sent to the Kandahar Airfield Hospital, where he received a Purple Heart prior to surgery. Since Feb. 5, 2012, Stanton has been residing at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
ABOUT OPERATION: COMING HOME:
Operation: Coming Home is a joint volunteer project by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County (HBA), the U.S. Veterans Corps and Royal Oaks Homes, among others. The project builds and donates homes for disabled combat veterans who have served in the Middle East, after a selection committee interviews candidates to determine the best fit. For more information, visit http://operationcominghome.com.
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