Benton Congratulates Former Army Staff Sergeant Awarded Mortgage-Free Home

PLAINFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, congratulates Staff Sergeant Tomee Phetsisouk—a decorated combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which he served as an infantry squad leader—after Phetsisouk and his two daughters were awarded a mortgage-free home on Oct. 1 through non-profit Building Homes for Heroes, in association with homebuilder PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program.

“America’s combat veterans are the best of us and deserve the best we can give them,” Benton said. “I want to thank PulteGroup and Building Homes for Heroes. Their efforts on behalf of veterans like Staff Sgt. Phetsisouk and his family are exemplary, and reflect the commitment to our veterans that every American should carry in their heart. Staff Sgt. Phetsisouk: congratulations, thank you—and ‘Welcome Home.’”

Staff Sgt. Phetsisouk joined the United States Army in 2003 in Rolling Meadows, IL and deployed to Iraq twice: from Aug. 2005 to Aug. 2006 and again from Dec. 2007 to Feb. 2009. His injuries were incurred during that second deployment, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED). Staff Sgt. Phetsisouk suffered severe head trauma which resulted in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) along with partial hearing loss, injuries to his back and neck and shrapnel wounds to his neck, back and arms. Today, he also continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Staff Sgt. Phetsisouk was medically retired from the Army in Nov. 2012 after serving honorably for more than nine years.

Building Homes for Heroes was founded in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and is nearing its goal of donating its 500 th home. It currently donates or refurbishes a home for an American veteran an average of once every 11 days.

PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program was established in 2013 and, through partner organizations, provides mortgage-free homes to disabled veterans with demonstrated financial need and who meet a short list of other criteria. They have since given more than 95 homes to veterans.