In 2017, Cars for Our Troops was honored to support Marine Corporal Timothy Read. Timothy Read always knew he wanted to be a Marine. He left for boot camp the summer following his high school graduation in 2007.He first deployed to Iraq in 2009 and then again to Afghanistan in 2010. During his second deployment, on Oct. 15, 2010, he was on patrol with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines in Marjah, Afghanistan, when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED). The blast resulted in the loss of his left leg above the knee in addition to other injuries. He served and recovered with fellow HFOT home recipient Julian Torres.
He underwent numerous surgeries and rigorous rehabilitation therapies at Walter Reed Medical Center, Balboa Navy Medical Hospital, and the VA in Tampa. While being treated in Tampa, he met his wife Anh Lan Du, who works in the hospital’s prosthetics department.
Now medically retired, Timothy enjoys weight lifting, mechanics, working on cars, and off-road rally racing. He is currently earning his associate’s in arts and plans to pursue a master’s in mechanical engineering. He would like to create his own nonprofit race team to help raise money and awareness for organizations that helped him, like Homes For Our Troops. Living mortgage-free in a home adapted to his injuries will help him with this aspiration.
In his current home, the kitchen cabinets and counters are too high for him while in his wheelchair and he does not have an accessible shower. Anh is often fearful he will trip or fall when she is not home. Receiving a Homes For Our Troops home equipped with pull down shelves and a roll-in shower will alleviate this burden. The mortgage-free home will also provide a stable foundation for Timothy and Anh to start a family. “Just being in a home, raising our family together and building our nonprofit – that will be the best thing to happen,” Timothy says.
Originally from Mississippi, Timothy is choosing to build his home outside Tampa, for the rural feel of the area.
Timothy is grateful to HFOT’s donors and supporters who will contribute to the building of his specially adapted home, and he promises he will not take this gift for granted. “I have witnessed the transformation of many Veterans who received a HFOT home. Thank you for your continued support,” he says.
He underwent numerous surgeries and rigorous rehabilitation therapies at Walter Reed Medical Center, Balboa Navy Medical Hospital, and the VA in Tampa. While being treated in Tampa, he met his wife Anh Lan Du, who works in the hospital’s prosthetics department.
Now medically retired, Timothy enjoys weight lifting, mechanics, working on cars, and off-road rally racing. He is currently earning his associate’s in arts and plans to pursue a master’s in mechanical engineering. He would like to create his own nonprofit race team to help raise money and awareness for organizations that helped him, like Homes For Our Troops. Living mortgage-free in a home adapted to his injuries will help him with this aspiration.
In his current home, the kitchen cabinets and counters are too high for him while in his wheelchair and he does not have an accessible shower. Anh is often fearful he will trip or fall when she is not home. Receiving a Homes For Our Troops home equipped with pull down shelves and a roll-in shower will alleviate this burden. The mortgage-free home will also provide a stable foundation for Timothy and Anh to start a family. “Just being in a home, raising our family together and building our nonprofit – that will be the best thing to happen,” Timothy says.
Originally from Mississippi, Timothy is choosing to build his home outside Tampa, for the rural feel of the area.
Timothy is grateful to HFOT’s donors and supporters who will contribute to the building of his specially adapted home, and he promises he will not take this gift for granted. “I have witnessed the transformation of many Veterans who received a HFOT home. Thank you for your continued support,” he says.