New House for Family on Armed Forces Day

May 23, 2011

By PGA TOUR Staff

FORT WORTH, Texas—On National Armed Forces Day, a U.S. Army soldier wounded in Iraq and his family received a mortgage-free home during a celebration during the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Lt. Gen. Leroy Sisco, founder of the Military Warriors Support Foundation, surprised Dahlman and his wife, Laurie, with the keys to their new home in Sugarland, a suburb of Houston. The Dahlmans took possession of the home through the foundation’s initiative, Homes 4 Wounded Heroes, sponsored by Chase and Bell Helicopter.

Military Warriors Support Foundation awards mortgage-free homes to wounded soldiers injured during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dahlman, a U.S. Army Specialist, 27, was severely injured by a roadside bomb in 2007 in Iraq. Shrapnel to his face resulted in the loss of his lower mandible and all of his lower teeth. Dahlman has undergone numerous surgeries, including five that have been more than 12-hour procedures to reconstruct his jaw area.

“Getting this house is incredible,” Dahlman said. “We can’t believe it, and we couldn’t be happier. This is going to allow me to finish surgeries and not have to worry about how we will be able to afford to pay rent or a mortgage.”

While Dahlman was recovering and undergoing treatment at Brooks Army Hospital in San Antonio, he met Laurie at a Clay Walker benefit concert for Military warriors Support Foundation, where she was volunteering. The couple married in 2009, and they now have a daughter, Stella. The Dahlmans celebrate their anniversary on the Stella’s birthday—May 29.

“Laurie is from Houston, so we will now be close to family,” Dahlman added.