PARKERSBURG - On Jan. 13, 2008, Randy Moore's life changed forever.
Moore, of Parkersburg, said he and a lieutenant had just finished sweeping an area with a metal detector when he stepped on a land mine in Iraq.
"I was deployed to Iraq in May 2007," he said Friday. "We had cleared the area when we stepped on a land mine."
Article Photos
Randy Moore, Carson Moore and Michelle Moore will be moving to their own house in Kenosha, Wis., obtained through the Homes 4 Wounded Heroes program of the Military Warriors Support Foundation. (Photo by Jeffrey Saulton)
In the blast, Moore lost his left hand and severely injured his left leg that has required skin grafts.
Moore returned to the Mid-Ohio Valley in October 2009 after spending more than a year in San Antonio, Texas, for rehabilitation. Because of his injuries Moore is 100 percent disabled.
Prior to Iraq, Moore was in an Army infantry unit and had been based in Fort Benning, Ga., Korea and Fort Stewart, Ga. His unit went to Kuwait for two weeks and then Iraq.
On Sunday, Moore and his wife, Michelle, will be at the New York Jets/Arizona Cardinals football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., where they will receive the key to their house through the Homes 4 Wounded Heroes and the Military Warriors Support Foundation.
Moore graduated from Federal Hocking High School and attended Parkersburg South High School. Michelle also graduated from Federal Hocking. They married in March and have a son named Carson.
"My buddy who deployed with me was injured after me and last year he told me about how he got his house," Moore said. "We'd been trying to get a house for a while."
Michelle said the application process was similar to getting a conventional mortgage loan.
"We filed an application and we had to send in a budget to make sure we are able to pay all the bills and upkeep of owning a home," she said. "We had multiple phone conferences and we applied for a house."
However, the house will not be near home.
"We applied for a house in Kenosha, Wis., because it was the closest one to the area," she said Friday. "About three weeks ago we were called and told the house was ours; the committee had decided we would get the house."
Michelle said the foundation buys houses in specific locations, mostly in Texas and California. She said they could have waited for a house closer to the area but decided to take the Kenosha house.
"That could have taken years and we wanted to move," she said. "There's more to do there; it's right on the lake and they have museums. We want more stuff for our son to do."
Randy said they will leave today for New Jersey and they will be at the stadium at 1 p.m.
Randy said they will be the only family receiving a house. He said the key presentation will probably not be televised since it will be done during the first time out in the third quarter.
"The house is ours but right now they are renovating it," she said. "It will be move-in ready with brand new appliances and new carpet and paint. We have to wait on the renovations."
Randy said they have been told they may be moving in February.
"We've been told it is a very good neighborhood," he said. "We will have to pay taxes and insurance and $50 a month for three years. After three years we get the money back when we get the deed in our names."
Michelle, who is a National Guard member, said she plans to go back to school when they get to Kenosha to complete her clinical work to be a physical therapy assistant. She said they have begun to pack for their move.
They have not been to the house site but have seen pictures and they get updates on the work by emails.
