A Deserving Veteran Receives a New Roof

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

Purple Heart recipient receives a much-needed new roof from a program designed to help veterans.  

In Lyles, Tennessee, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran’s home was in urgent need of a new roof. Moisture had already begun to leak into the home and caused considerable damage when Phillip Walker applied to the Habitat for Humanity and Owens Corning National Roof Deployment Project. Advocates at the Department of Veterans Affairs made the suggestion to Walker, and he was glad they did.  

73-year-old Phillip Walker inherited the house after his parents passed away and has lived in Lyles for the last 15 years. Walker comes from a line of veterans, as family members from both sides have served in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. Walker is also a Purple Heart recipient for wounds sustained in combat during the Vietnam War.  

"After they removed the shrapnel and I healed, they sent me back out there," Walker said. "My service... it means a lot. I am glad I joined the Marines. The draft was still around at the time, but if I didn't join any branch of service, I would have wound up in the Army, so I decided to go in to the Marine Corps." 

Walker was selected to receive a new roof, free of charge, and was more than pleased to see the construction crew rest silver ladders against the edges of his old, leaking roof.  

“It’s a great help and relief,” Walker told reporter Emily West of the Tennessean.  

The material used for the roof was donated by Owens Corning and Cody Goins with Davis Brothers Roofing, a local contractor, donated the labor for the project. The Owens Corning National Roof Deployment Project has now awarded four veterans in Middle Tennesse with new roofs and are eager to provide more. 

Cody Goins enjoys the opportunity to show his appreciation for veterans, "We are happy to give back, and it was something available for us to do," Goins said. "Simply, we are happy to give." 

The Owens Corning National Roof Deployment Project was launched in 2016 with a roof in San Antonio, Texas. Four years later, the project has been able to give free new roofs to around 200 veterans from around the country and Owens Corning is not planning on stopping anytime soon. 

“They have given so much for me, and we see that,” said Owens Corning’s Sherry Talbot. “We want to donate and provide a way to help.” 

Do you know of someone in the industry who is ‘doing good deeds’ in their community? Help us catch them at it. Send news and information to info@rooferscoffeeshop.com.