Union members in the Marietta, Ohio, area are joining with several charitable organizations to raise funds to build a “smart home” for Army Private First Class Kyle Hockenberry who lost both legs in an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan last year.

The Parkersburg-Marietta Building and Construction Trades Council has volunteered the labor to build the house. The group is also working with the Gary Sinise Foundation and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’sBuilding for America’s Bravest initiative in promoting an Aug. 16 fund raising concert in Marietta featuring Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band. Sinise portrayed double amputee Lt. Dan in the movie “Forrest Gump.”   

Troy Ferrell, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 972 business manager says:

Kyle has sacrificed a lot for his country, and now it is time we give back to one of our own.

The completely customized “smart home” will help “restore his dignity and freedom,”  says Building for America’s Bravest website. The home will have special features to assist with Hockenberry's mobility. A prior "smart home" built through Sinise's foundation was controlled through an iPad. Watch the YouTube video on the special features here. 

Tickets for the concert at Marietta College are available here and you can click here to make a donation.