SALISBURY, N.C. -- A U.S. Army Veteran and his family received the keys to a brand new home Friday and got to go inside and see the finished product before they move in this weekend.
Retired U.S. Army Captain Gary Mason walked inside the Salisbury home Friday morning with his family by his side.
"This is awesome, it's just a humongous blessing," Mason said. "We would've never guessed that in 2017 this is what we'd be doing."
It's now their home, thanks to a partnership between Operation Homefront and Wade Jurney Homes, teaming up to give this veteran a house mortgage-free. The Mason's have faced obstacles in their living situations in the past when they were living in Maryland.
"A water main burst and it pretty much destroyed everything in the home," Mason said. "The furniture, the floors."
Mason suffers from PTSD and general aches and pains from his time in the service. Seeing his house, he figured out right away what his favorite part of it would be.
"This open area," Mason said. "If someone's going to be in the kitchen cooking, if I want to sit here in my rocking chair, I can talk right across and see my lovely wife. If they're doing dishes I can yell at them!"
The Masons do a lot of charitable work for the Wounded Warrior Project and help veterans in other ways. They say this home allows them to get a little reward of their own for their hard work.
"This is the first time I can kind of sit back and be there for them," Mason said. "They're just an awesome family, and now I get quality time."
Mason says he served for 14 years in the military.