HOOPER, Weber County — Retired United States Marine Sgt. Brian Johnston said he was catastrophically injured during what he calls “a bad day at work.”
His work at the time, however, involved deactivating explosives along the streets in Fallujah, Iraq.
“I was good at getting IEDs. I got all of them except one,” he recalls. “That one took off my arm and my leg. ... Don’t feel sorry for me, I just had a bad day at work.”
Johnston, a third-generation military man, met his new condition with the same positive outlook as he does everything in life, and he hasn’t really ever looked back.
“That isn’t going to change what happened,” he said.
On Wednesday, the 38-year-old Purple Heart veteran was given the keys to a brand new 2,350 square-foot smart home at 7035 W. 5900 South, in Hooper. The home was built to give Johnston the opportunity to function as normally as he can, from a wheelchair half of nearly every day to prosthetics.
His previous residencies haven’t been fully accessible, but this new one goes above and beyond — there are wide open spaces, hallways and doorways. It has two furnaces with three thermostats, a fire sprinkler system, touch- and motion-sensor kitchen and bathrooms, automatic toilets, lights and blinds, as well as a computer monitored security system “to safeguard their warrior,” said Brent Keller, general contractor and owner of Keller Homes, which worked with the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation to build the Hooper home.
He said it is a “privilege” to be part of the process. “These are true warriors. They are the bravest of us.”
Johnston’s is one of 24 homes the New York City-based foundation will provide, mortgage-free, to service members, first responders, and their families across the country this month.
“You can’t experience the stability a home provides unless you face losing it,” said Jennie Taylor, widow of former North Ogden mayor and National Guard Maj. Brent Taylor, who was killed last year while he was deployed to Afghanistan.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation also helped Taylor by paying off her mortgage last year.
“We are the free because of the brave,” Taylor said, adding that fewer than 1% of Americans serve in the U.S. military to protect the other 99%. It’s a job, she said, that requires that they be willing to lose their lives.
Not having to worry about paying the mortgage, Taylor added, gives veterans and their families “peace of mind,” but also helps to preserve their dignity and shows gratitude for their service and accompanying sacrifice.
Johnston spent two weeks in a drug-induced coma following a road-side explosion on Nov. 8, 2004. His mother, Vera Herron, of Riverton, said she knew her son — the first of two who served in the Marines — would survive, but it “was a long, hard road.”
He spent 20 months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and endured 58 surgeries. Since being fitted with prosthetics, Johnston has been learning to adapt to the world around him.
“I never thought something like this would ever happen to me,” he said, talking about the generosity of the foundation, along with numerous community partners and volunteers who donated their time and resources to get it done.
The new home, Johnston said, is “the nicest house I will ever live in.”
It was hard for him to put into words how it felt seeing the home finished for the first time on Wednesday. Johnston said he selected the 1.3-acre property because it was flat and open, but also not too far from the community centers.
It’s the least that could be done for the honored veteran, Taylor said, adding that “his needs were created by his service to our country.” She said she’s learned a lot getting acquainted with Johnston in the last year, including that he “doesn’t sulk or seem bitter” because of what happened.
“He’s a wonderful man,” she said, adding that anyone can be a part of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation by donating $11 a month.
The interior of the home boasts similar open space and high ceilings, which Johnston likes. He selected muted grays and browns to decorate the home.
“I can’t wait to move in,” Johnston, formerly of Connecticut, said, adding that joining the military was one of the best things he ever did.