An 89-year-old who served in the Korean War arrived home Friday to a renovated and clean house after it had fallen into a state of disarray.
Bill Parrish, a Purple Heart recipient who was known to most as Gunny, had seen his health decline over the years, and as his health declined, so did the state of his home, NBC DFW reported.
Brian “Twelve” Wilburn, the Director of Veteran Operations at the Veterans Resource and Outreach Center, learned of Parrish’s situation and managed to cobble together help from several different organizations.
Wilburn got Lowe’s Home Improvement, the Combat Veteran’s Motorcycle Association, Life Message, America’s Guardians, Third Watch, the Marine Corps League, and Eco-Safe on board with the project.
During that time, volunteers removed everything inside, cleaned it, and replaced old appliances and furniture to make Parrish’s house feel like a home.
Since Parrish’s wife died in 2015, that house is all he has to keep him company.
“This is home. This is the only place I’ve got. I don’t have family. This is my home,” said Parrish.
On Friday, people from all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area gathered outside Parrish’s home with flags in hand to welcome him to his renovated home.
“It warms your heart when you can come together for a cause despite everybody’s different backgrounds and busy schedules and put something together that makes somebody’s life a little bit better,” said Wilburn.
Parrish is not the first veteran who has been surprised by the community to fill a need. In December, a community raised more than $4,500 to give a Marine Veteran a car, and in that same month, a small town in Idaho got together to fit a Navy veteran with a new set of dentures.