WATCH – Marine Corps Veteran and Family Gifted Home: ‘A Dream Come True’

A Marine Corps veteran recently got a huge welcome in Chester, Virginia, when he was gifted a home alongside his wife and two children.

“This is a dream come true,” Lance Corporal Nick Ellis told NBC 12. “If you had told me I would be getting this house so close to my family, for free, I would have told you that sounds like a movie.”

Ellis received a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home built by Building Homes for Heroes and JP Morgan and was a gift to the family.

“In 2006, Ellis was responding to insurgent activity in Iraq when his unit came under attack. He suffered injuries to his ribs, face, and brain from the shrapnel lodged into his body,” the report stated.

The veteran said he did not think anything would happen when he contacted Building Homes for Heroes, but he soon found out otherwise.

“Right away we started talking, and then talking turned to action, and this started coming together and I could not believe how generous these people were being to me and my family,” Ellis recalled.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the organization shared photos of the ceremony and the family when they received the keys to the house:

The veteran was welcomed with a police escort to the home, and American flags were seen lining the way. His family said they felt overwhelmed when they entered the house for the first time.

“I can’t believe this is ours, I can’t believe that this is real,” Kelly, Ellis’ wife, commented. “After we unpack I think I’ll sit around in shock for a bit more, before I can make any real plans.”

The Building Homes for Heroes mission statement said the organization is “determined and devoted to bringing renewed hope to our nation’s injured veterans.”

“The organization builds or modifies homes, and gifts them, mortgage-free, to injured veterans and their families, while providing support services to enable them to build better and brighter lives and reach new heights,” its website reads.