Combat-wounded Army Ranger Staff Sergeant Travis Dunn is the latest American hero to benefit from a partnership among the Florida Carpenters Union, Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors (JAH4WW) and the Army Ranger Lead the Way Fund. SSG Dunn, his wife, and their baby daughter were on hand recently for the groundbreaking of a mortgage-free, 100-percent handicap accessible home in Wesley Chapel, Florida, located just north of Tampa. Taking the lead for the Florida Carpenters is contractor WW Gay. The home will be built specifically for SSG Dunn’s needs.
Since its inception in 2009, JAH4WW has completed handicap-accessible homes for many injured U.S. military veterans and is in the process of building several more across the country. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters, of which the Florida council is an active affiliate, partners with JAH4WW around the country to help get these American heroes into a comfortable living environment.
(Photo: Left to Right: Matt Young, Edmonson Electric; Jody Crews, WW Gay Mechanical; Harold Richardson, WW Gay Mechanical; Kelly Dunn, Travis Dunn and their daughter, Sadie; Alex Karalexis, Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors; James Regan, Ranger Lead the Way Fund and his wife, Mary; Matt Swanson, Florida Carpenters Regional Council)
SSG Dunn’s Journey
Army Ranger Staff Sergeant Travis Dunn was presented with the Bronze Star Medal for Valor and the Purple Heart after being wounded in combat on December 2, 2014 in Afghanistan. On that day, SSG Dunn and a group of Rangers with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and Afghan special operations soldiers were on a joint operation in Nangarhar Province when they came under attack. The group sustained six hours of direct fire engagement. Despite the assault, the unit cleared multiple insurgent-held compounds and killed more than 25 enemy fighters in addition to rescuing a wounded Ranger.
SSG Dunn showed great bravery in the exchange, closing with an armed enemy in a close ambush, as well as on three barricaded shooters. During the assault, SSG Dunn was shot in the upper torso and fell from an embankment, resulting in paraplegia. Despite being paralyzed from the waist down, he remains positive.