Operation: Coming Home
Operation: Coming HomeOperation: Coming Home
Operation: Coming Home builds and gives away homes with the help of our local home builders and subcontractors.
Why it started
Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF, Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, Afghanistan), over 35,000 men and women have been wounded in combat; about half were so severely wounded they were not returned to duty. Many sustained gunshot wounds, permanent loss of limbs, paralysis and severe neck and head trauma. These men and women will forever bear the scars of protecting our way of life and the freedom we enjoy.
In 2007 a group of local veterans and members of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County decided to create a project for these severely wounded veterans: to help a local service member who was severely wounded in combat fulfill his or her family’s desire to live the American Dream of home ownership. That project became Operation: Coming Home (OCH).
A team of US veterans also produced and directed the Operation: Coming Home Key Ceremony event for the HBA. When the keys were delivered and the event ended, these veterans felt a strong urge to continue the mission, and so the United States Veterans Corps was created.
The SGT Joey Bozik home
In 2008, Operation: Coming Home enlisted the help of Royal Oaks Building Group, Atreus Homes, and Gaines and Company to build a new home for SGT Joey Bozik, a wounded soldier of the 16th Military Police, who lost both legs and one arm in Iraq when his Humvee hit a roadside bomb.
OCH provided SGT Bozik with a home customized to meet his precise needs: zero-threshold floors, wider doorways, a custom shower, special ramps, a sprinkler system, and a custom kitchen with appliances set to accommodate someone in a wheelchair. These features have given Joey and his young family a way to live a more normal life even with his injuries.
Operation: Coming Home started with a groundbreaking ceremony on May 30, 2008 in the Southern Oaks subdivision of Fuquay-Varina, NC, where Gaines and Company had donated a lot to build this soldier’s home.
Built with local builders
This program succeeds because many caring organizations and individuals willingly contribute their time, effort and finances to thank our local veterans.
CalAtlantic Homes
Chesapeake Homes
Fresh Paint by Garman Homes
Pulte Homes/Centex
Lennar Homes
M/I Homes
Royal Oaks Building Group
Atreus Homes
Gaines and Company
HBA of Raleigh-Wake County
OCH partners & sponsors ↗Our debt to our heroes
We at OCH and the rest of the American population owe a huge debt of gratitude to our military forces. There is no better way to show it than by all of us helping to continue Operation: Coming Home, giving other American heroes a completely free home of their own.
The board of OCH and the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County continue to select new recipients. We continue to rely on the donations and sponsorships of individuals and companies, as well as labor and supplies, to keep this program the success that it is.
For questions about OCH, please contact Andy Ladner of the United States Veterans Corps at (919) 818-9609.
Apply for a Hero Home
Hero Home application requirements
- Must be a U.S. combat operations veteran who was physically injured in the Middle East conflicts.
- Must not currently own a home. (The Hero Home is a 6-year commitment. The home will be built in a neighborhood where the lot has been donated by one of our developers.)
- Must allow OCH to perform both a credit and criminal background check.
If you meet these initial requirements, open the application below. Your application will then be reviewed, and you will be contacted if you are considered for selection.
The application is hosted by the HBA of Raleigh-Wake County (hbawake.com).
Tiny Homes Flag-Raising Ceremony
15 Summit Ave, Raleigh, NC ↗. Wednesday, Nov 11, 2026 (Veterans Day), at 10:00 AM. Hosted by the US Veterans Corps and two co-hosts.
Help build the next Hero Home.
Donations are made directly to the United States Veterans Corps (USVC), a 501(c)(3). EIN 45-4196778.
All of the donations we receive go toward the building of homes. Nothing goes to our group’s administration or the races we plan.
Opens USVC’s secure PayTrace payment page in a new tab.