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A Vietnam veteran got a $500 water bill and knew something was wrong.
It turns out, he had a broken sprinkler system.
Hugo Speier first called House of Heroes for sprinkler repairs. The nonprofit checked the inside of the home, saw it was in good shape, but the backyard needed more repairs.
“We tried to have a lawn with a sprinkler system that was in here, and it kept breaking,” Speier said. “It was full of weeds and stickers.”
Speier said he didn’t have the money to fix the backyard.
“It wasn’t really livable, and we have a lot of grandkids,” he said.
House of Heroes Arizona stepped up to help.
“We’ve got a home sprinkler system coming in. The rock is delivered,” said Janet Rogers with House of Heroes Arizona. “We’re going to do solar lighting around the edges. We’re going to have trees. We’re going to have shrubs.”
The nonprofit raises money, gets materials, and recruits volunteers to help public safety and military veterans with home repairs.
Speier served in the Navy during the Vietnam War.
“This is our green uniform and our combat boots,” he said. “I never shined them.”
He said he gets emotional thinking about the war, especially on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
“Because of all the guys that didn’t come back. That’s part of survivor’s guilt that I deal with,” he said.
He said, at first, Vietnam veterans were not treated very well.
“All the horror stories you hear when we came back, they’re all true,” Speier said.
He said it feels good to see how things have changed. He now feels embraced as a veteran and is grateful to the volunteers at House of Heroes.
“We can then enjoy the whole space like it should be,” he said. “Beautiful project.”
Speier said this has inspired him to help out with his business, Hugo’s AC and Heating. He said he’ll be volunteering his services to help out other veterans with House of Heroes.
House of Heroes Arizona always has volunteer opportunities, and there are several fundraising events coming up in July and August.
