Wounded warrior, an ECU graduate, receives new home

Wounded warrior and ECU graduate Nathan Rimpf is shown above, second from left, at the groundbreaking ceremony for his new home. (Photo by Steve Tuttle)

A little over a year after he lost his legs to a mine while fighting in Afghanistan, Army Ranger Nathan Rimpf received a new home donated through a partnership of the Operation Coming Home foundation and the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County. It is the sixth home donated by the partnership to wounded warriors in the last five years.

“Operation Coming Home and those involved are truly changing the lives of wounded veterans, including my own,” Rimpf said at the Aug. 8 groundbreaking ceremony for the home. Designed to accommodate his special needs, the detached, single-family home is located in the Renaissance Park development in south Raleigh.

Rimpf graduated from East Carolina University in 2010 and was a cadet in the Army ROTC chapter on campus. A color guard from the ECU ROTC unit, the Pirate Battalion, assisted with the ceremony, students who Rimpf said he remembered from his college days. Also attending from the university was Dr. Glen Gilbert, interim vice chancellor for advancement and dean of the College of Health and Human Performance – a college  which includes military programs.

Over the past year, Rimpf has received extensive rehabilitation therapy at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he was fitted with prosthetic legs. Today, he is able to walk and run.

“July 8, 2012, was filled with pain and anxiety for our family,” said Cindy Rimpf, his mother. “I could never have imagined that one year later, our son would be named a recipient of a home” donated through Operation Coming Home.

Construction on the home is expected to be completed in November. At that time, Rimpf will return for a ceremony to receive the keys to the house.

“We’ve met so many wonderful supporters of the military this past year,” Cindy Rimpf said. “It is so encouraging to be in a county with patriot citizens who appreciate the sacrifices that others have given on their behalf.”

— Steve Tuttle, ECU News Services