thedrifter
09-01-09, 08:29 AM
Gates hands Marine keys to new house
By LINDSAY WISE Houston Chronicle
Sept. 1, 2009, 1:17AM
Teal Moran stood at a window of her family's brand-new two-story home on Monday afternoon, staring at a growing throng of Boy Scouts waving American flags and Marines standing at attention in dress uniforms.
“We're really low-key people, so this is kind of crazy,” said the 29-year-old Texas A&M graduate. She turned to her husband and fellow Aggie, Marine Corps Capt. Daniel Moran, with a stunned grin of her face. “This is, like, ridiculous.”
The couple — and the crowd lining the streets of their Cypress neighborhood — were awaiting the arrival of U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who came to the Houston area Monday to present Capt. Moran with the keys to his new home.
The four-bedroom brick house was custom built for Moran by Helping A Hero, a nonprofit that has constructed 14 homes for local disabled veterans since 2006.
“It represents a new beginning and a down payment on a bright future for Daniel,” Gates said during the key presentation ceremony.
Moran, 28, medically retired from the Marine Corps last month after being seriously injured during his second tour of duty in Iraq three years ago. Monday's event marked the fourth time he'd met Gates, who was president of A&M when Moran and his wife were students there.
As Gates recounted, he first shook hands with Moran when he handed the young man his diploma upon graduation from A&M. The second time, Gates was visiting injured service members at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where Moran was a patient.
“He asked me to personalize a graduation-day photo of us,” Gates recalled. “I was honored but, after meeting Daniel, I came away thinking I should be the one seeking an autograph.”
The third time was at half time of a Texas A&M football game in 2007, when the secretary of defense presented Moran with a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor in front of 80,000 screaming fans.
Injured twice
On Oct. 9, 2006, Moran suffered a concussion from the explosion of a homemade bomb in Ramadi, Iraq. Despite his injury, Moran urged doctors to let him return to his platoon. Less than two weeks later, another improvised explosive device killed three of his Marines and wounded Moran, who sustained third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body. The blast also seared the inside of his lungs.
Moran's new home has special air filters to protect his vulnerable immune system.
Extra air conditioning units keep the place cool, since Moran's damaged body can't regulate his internal temperature.
After more than 30 surgeries and years of intense rehabilitation and therapy, Moran says he's ready to start the next phase of his life with wife Teal and their two children: Trey, 4, and Macy, 2. The couple are expecting their third child soon.
“What can I say?” Moran said. “Words don't do justice. So what can do justice? I can tell you right now, it's going to be how I live my life, with honor, courage and commitment.”
lindsay.wise@chron.com
Ellie
By LINDSAY WISE Houston Chronicle
Sept. 1, 2009, 1:17AM
Teal Moran stood at a window of her family's brand-new two-story home on Monday afternoon, staring at a growing throng of Boy Scouts waving American flags and Marines standing at attention in dress uniforms.
“We're really low-key people, so this is kind of crazy,” said the 29-year-old Texas A&M graduate. She turned to her husband and fellow Aggie, Marine Corps Capt. Daniel Moran, with a stunned grin of her face. “This is, like, ridiculous.”
The couple — and the crowd lining the streets of their Cypress neighborhood — were awaiting the arrival of U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who came to the Houston area Monday to present Capt. Moran with the keys to his new home.
The four-bedroom brick house was custom built for Moran by Helping A Hero, a nonprofit that has constructed 14 homes for local disabled veterans since 2006.
“It represents a new beginning and a down payment on a bright future for Daniel,” Gates said during the key presentation ceremony.
Moran, 28, medically retired from the Marine Corps last month after being seriously injured during his second tour of duty in Iraq three years ago. Monday's event marked the fourth time he'd met Gates, who was president of A&M when Moran and his wife were students there.
As Gates recounted, he first shook hands with Moran when he handed the young man his diploma upon graduation from A&M. The second time, Gates was visiting injured service members at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where Moran was a patient.
“He asked me to personalize a graduation-day photo of us,” Gates recalled. “I was honored but, after meeting Daniel, I came away thinking I should be the one seeking an autograph.”
The third time was at half time of a Texas A&M football game in 2007, when the secretary of defense presented Moran with a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor in front of 80,000 screaming fans.
Injured twice
On Oct. 9, 2006, Moran suffered a concussion from the explosion of a homemade bomb in Ramadi, Iraq. Despite his injury, Moran urged doctors to let him return to his platoon. Less than two weeks later, another improvised explosive device killed three of his Marines and wounded Moran, who sustained third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body. The blast also seared the inside of his lungs.
Moran's new home has special air filters to protect his vulnerable immune system.
Extra air conditioning units keep the place cool, since Moran's damaged body can't regulate his internal temperature.
After more than 30 surgeries and years of intense rehabilitation and therapy, Moran says he's ready to start the next phase of his life with wife Teal and their two children: Trey, 4, and Macy, 2. The couple are expecting their third child soon.
“What can I say?” Moran said. “Words don't do justice. So what can do justice? I can tell you right now, it's going to be how I live my life, with honor, courage and commitment.”
lindsay.wise@chron.com
Ellie