Volunteers honor vet by fixing up home

More than 100 local residents joining project

Updated: Wednesday, 19 May 2010, 8:57 AM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 18 May 2010, 9:18 PM CDT

• Reporter: Lindsay Veremis

GREEN BAY - A group of volunteers is thanking a Vietnam veteran for his service by repairing his home. The project kicked off Tuesday evening in Green Bay.

It's part of Heroes at Home , a national campaign that shows appreciation for veterans of all wars.

"When you have 14 to 15 volunteers it's amazing you know how much work you can get done in one night and we'll probably have maybe 75, 100 volunteers throughout those four or five days," volunteer Steve Lowery said.

In less than one week, a home on Roy Street in Green Bay will have new windows, new carpet and vinyl, a downstairs shower and fresh coat of paint inside and out.

It will also have one happy homeowner, a veteran who's lived there for more than 30 years.

"I think it's awesome this is totally unexpected for me," veteran Dan Platten said.

Platten served two years in the central highlands of Vietnam. Now, the Sears-funded "Heroes at Home" program and a host of local volunteers are thanking him for his service by fixing up his home.

"Eventually I would have liked to do it myself, but I don't know if I would have ever got at it," he said.

Volunteers on the project will work from 4:00 to dusk each day. Some have building skills, others just bring enthusiasm.

"It's a really good feeling to know that you can help someone out, support someone in your community and really kind of give them a different feeling of where and how they live," Mark Gibbons of Allouez said.

Platten says he's grateful and wishes his wife would have lived to see the project.

"Dan spent the last few years taking care of his wife who was ill and in a wheelchair," Lowery said. "He was by her side the whole time."

The volunteers hope their work will honor Platten's service. He says their presence is enough.

Platten plans to pass on the appreciation he's seen to other veterans at this weekend's LZ Lambeau event.

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/volunteers-honor-veteran-by-fixing-up-home