PulteGroup Breaks Ground on New Mortgage-Free Home for USAF Veteran in Southeast Florida

PulteGroup has started construction on a new single-family home in Port St. Lucie that will be gifted to an injured U.S. Air Force veteran through its Built to Honor® program. U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Francis “Frankie” Reilly and family members recently participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for their future home in the Heron Preserve community by Pulte Homes.
 
“It is an honor for us to be able to build this home for Frankie and his family,” said PulteGroup Southeast Florida Division President Brent Baker. “We look forward to presenting them with the keys to their new home early next year.”
 
The Reilly family will receive a 2,685-square-foot-plus single-family home with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Built specifically for them, Pulte is adding some special upgrades including a pool and custom rehab room in the garage with a built-in ice tub and refrigerator. Master Sergeant Reilly is a paralympic competitor in biking and will use the room after intense training sessions.
 
“This groundbreaking signifies more than just the building of a new home. It signifies a fresh start, a new chapter in our lives that I never anticipated. This is a place where I can create lasting memories, a foundation for a brighter future for myself and my loved ones,” said Master Sergeant Reilly, who currently lives in Cocoa with his wife Heather. The couple has three adult children - Jacob, Katelyn and Madison.
 
PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program was launched in 2013 to recognize and thank returning military personnel who have been injured during their term of service by providing them with mortgage-free homes. The Company awarded the home in partnership with Building Homes for Heroes®, a national non-profit organization devoted to bringing renewed hope and service to injured veterans. This will be the first Built to Honor home delivered in Southeast Florida.

“We are extremely grateful to PulteGroup and their Built to Honor program for supporting our veterans and military families with mortgage-free homes,” said Rusty Smallwood, operations manager for Building Homes for Heroes.
 
U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Francis Reilly
USAF Master Sergeant Francis Reilly joined the military in 1994 and served honorably for 24 years before being medically retired. He was injured during a special operation while acting as a jumpmaster.  As his parachute deployed, it caught his leg and pulled it backward causing severe trauma to his leg and foot that found him at two different level one trauma centers.  He now has permanent paralysis in his right leg, and his recovery continues.  Sergeant Reilly was also diagnosed with PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury) after a mission that left several close teammates critically injured. For service to his country, USAF Master Sergeant Reilly is the recipient of more than 25 service medals.
 
Now, as he continues his recovery, Reilly has become a paralympic cycling athlete and hopes to qualify for the Olympics. He and his wife Heather are looking forward to relocating to Port St. Lucie, in a new home that they can call their own, where he can continue to recover and make new memories with family.