SSG JOHN BENNETT

Cascade, MT

Mission Accomplished on April 8, 2007

John Bennett first enlisted in the Montana Army National Guard as a way to pay for his college education. After his first enlistment, he knew it was a career he was born to do.  

On February 11, 2005, Staff Sergeant Bennett was on his first deployment to Iraq as an Infantryman with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 163rd Mechanized Infantry, when he was shot in the stomach by a sniper. As a result of the bullet wound, SSG Bennett sustained severe internal injuries and a spinal cord injury paralyzing him from the waist down. 

After extensive surgeries and prolonged stays at spinal cord injury facilities, John was able to return home. At the time, John and his family lived in a small home that presented many challenges to his daily living. In particular, his children’s bedrooms were not on the ground level, and his bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom/shower could not accommodate a wheelchair. “Just getting around my previous home was a nightmare,” says John.  

In 2007, Homes For Our Troops built John and his family a new specially adapted home in Cascade, Montana. John has since had full access within his home and lives more independently. 

John is happily settled in the Cascade community and enjoys spending time with his family. He also became a proud grandfather in 2012. John says having a comfortable place to return home to gives him the motivation to enjoy his favorite activities like going to the gym, hunting, fishing, archery, and shooting. 

John would like to extend his sincere gratitude to all those who supported his Homes For Our Troops project and this life-changing gift. “The home has made everything so much easier, from showering to just everyday life. The generator has made the winters here in Montana so much better. It has kicked on several times since being installed. So nice. There is no way I can ever thank Homes For Our Troops enough for this.”