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thedrifter
03-17-09, 07:06 AM
OrlandoSentinel.com
Building Homes for Heroes to help Orlando veteran get house
A wounded vet and his family are to receive a new home in honor of his heroism in Iraq

Darryl E. Owens

Sentinel Staff Writer

March 17, 2009


Once, Staff Sgt. Guillermo Castillo braved enemy fire while commanding Humvee patrols that swept through enemy terrain littered with roadside bombs.

Now, wearing an unwanted souvenir from his second Iraq tour, the 29-year-old Army Ranger mostly fears the staircase in his Orlando home.

"Going up and down steps is scary," said Castillo, whose left leg now is man-made. "You don't know when the foot's [on the step]. You just have to trust it. Everything has changed."

Nearly two years ago, his dreams exploded in a moment of madness. Now, a New York outfit and a local charity intend to restore a big piece of his American dream by giving him a free house.

Castillo will be the fifth severely wounded service member recently returned from Afghanistan or Iraq to receive a new or refurbished home from Building Homes for Heroes. The Long Island-based group provides families as much as $250,000 to build or buy a home. This time, the Windermere Country Club Foundation is supporting the project with a golf fundraiser.

"Knowing that William Castillo survived so much physical and emotional trauma ... we found his story of service and survival to be incredibly compelling," said Andy Pujol, president of Building Homes for Heroes.

Originally from New York, Castillo felt duty's tug after friends perished in the Sept. 11 attacks. He joined the Army in 2003, and two years later, he was fighting in Iraq.

Upon returning to the States, he enrolled in Army Ranger School and later volunteered for a second deployment in 2007. That stint was cut short.

On April 27 that year, his squad was ordered to clear an area for medical-evacuation helicopters to treat wounded Marines pinned down by enemy gunfire. Castillo's team did its job.

While they were heading back to base, a roadside bomb in Fallujah exploded near Castillo's Humvee. He awoke nearby in a small trench. His ears rang and enemy gunfire flashed around him.

Having only a sidearm, he moved toward the burning, capsized Humvee. A bullet hit him in the head, though his Kevlar bore the brunt. Two more shells struck his bullet-proof vest. Another round slammed into his right leg. A final round smashed through his chin and out his mouth.

Still, he continued toward the driver pinned inside the Humvee. A rocket-propelled grenade ended his rescue efforts.

"Everything," Castillo said, "went black."

Recovering from attack
The next time he opened his eyes, he was in a bed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His men weren't as lucky.

Army Spec. Eddie D. Tamez, 21, and Army Pfc. David A. Kirkpatrick, 20, both of the 3rd Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, died in the blast.

Before doctors could break the news, Castillo saw he too had made great sacrifices.

"You see so much stuff over there that the first thing you do is check yourself," he said.

His sister called Katherine, an old flame with whom he had reconnected just before deploying, to rally support for Castillo during his recovery.

"I needed to be there," said Katherine, 28. "I didn't want to turn and run."

Indeed, she made frequent trips from New York to Washington to stay on his case, his benevolent drill sergeant.

"Next thing I know," Castillo said, "she was there on the weekends to motivate me and inspire me to get past it."

That struck a chord with him. He battled through infections in his stump to be fitted for a prosthetic leg in September 2007 so he could practice kneeling. At a friend's wedding three days later, he knelt and proposed. They married last May.

After moving to Orlando to be near his mother and Andrea, his 9-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, the Castillos rented a house.

They had tried to buy a home for more than a year, but they couldn't score a mortgage. In January, a contact with the Army Wounded Warrior Program informed Castillo that Building Homes for Heroes wanted to talk.

After meeting the Castillos, Building Homes for Heroes invited the family to a Magic game, where they learned they had been chosen.

"It was just overwhelming, you know," Castillo said. "My wife's crying, and I'm trying to keep my composure — I'm in uniform, you know."

Soon, a home of their own
Building Homes for Heroes expects that with the fundraising in progress, the Castillos can start building a new home somewhere in Central Florida or buy an existing home within six months.

They like their current location — two blocks from Castillo's mother, Noemi Barreiro — but the stairs are just one issue. The place wasn't meant for a wounded warrior.

On a recent afternoon, Castillo wasn't sure whether his son Xavier was bored, hungry or sopping wet as he made his move over to the child's carrier. By the time he got there, the infant's half-hearted squeals had swelled into full-fledged crying.

With his wife out of earshot, Castillo took the baby in his arms, reluctantly, bracing his God-given leg while steadying the metallic mirage of the limb he lost.

"I carry him, but I try not to if I don't have to — even though I want to," Castillo said. He is afraid his new leg might betray him.

For Castillo, the worries and adjustments may never cease. He can't chase after Andrea and his stepchildren, Haley, 8, and Ryan, 6, the way he once did.

But he is thankful he can still chase his revamped dreams. And he's grateful that he won't need to chase a cornerstone of many Americans' dream: a family's home, mortgaged in gratitude.

Darryl E. Owens can be reached at 407-420-5095 or dowens@orlandosentinel.com.

Ellie