Myrtle Beach veteran gets special gift that will make life easier
Myrtle Beach veteran Daniel Dobay was surrounded by family and friends at The Grumpy Monk restaurant Wednesday afternoon when he learned he had won a mortgage-free-home.
“This is such a gracious gift,” Dobay, 34, said. “I feel a sincere sense of gratitude. This is far beyond anything I could have received from anybody.”
Dobay, a retired United States Marine Corps Corporal, and his wife, Kasey, had spent nearly two months interviewing with PulteGroup’s Built to Honor Program and Building Homes for Heroes, a military support organization, with the hope of winning a brand new home conducive to his disability.
In 2011, Dobay was serving his second tour in Afghanistan when his Humvee was struck by a 300-pound, homemade explosive device that ejected him from the top of the vehicle, causing extensive injuries to his ankles, a traumatic brain injury, as well as injuries to his back. His left foot was eventually amputated, and he now wears a prosthetic.
Before being honorably discharged and medically retired, Dobay was awarded the Purple Heart.
But when Dobay and Kasey moved to Myrtle Beach in 2015, they quickly bought a two-story home without considering the modifications that would need to be made to accommodate his injuries. He said their new home, a roughly 2,300 square-foot home with one floor consisting of four bedrooms and three bathrooms, will ease his worries when planning the future and growing his family.
“I have a prosthetic and I have really bad back issues, so it’s hard for me to get around sometimes, and I might one day need a wheelchair,” Dobay said. “So having the accessibility to be able to do the normal things people take for granted -- it means a lot.”
Charlie Tipton, PulteGroup’s coastal Carolina’s division president, said his company is focused on giving back to veterans by building them homes suitable to their lifestyles. Launching the Built to Honor program in 2013, they’ve built and donated more than 50 homes across the country, including two now in Myrtle Beach.
Dobay’s home, which will be located at Berkshire Forest in the Carolina Forest area, is expected to be move-in ready by November.
“We can’t wait to get started. It’s going to be perfect for them,” Tipton said. “It’s our honor and privilege to provide the American dream to the American heroes.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2019 at 7:26 PM.
