Nationwide Project Replaces 80-Year-Old Veteran’s Leaky Roof: ‘This Means a Lot to Us’

A veteran in Orange County, North Carolina, can now rest easy inside his home thanks to a nationwide project.

United States Army veteran William Torain got a replacement roof last week for his home located in Hillsborough, the News of Orange County reported January 28.

“After a daylong deluge of rain, a crew from HRH Roofing went right to work replacing Torain’s leaking roof as part of the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project, which selects veterans from across the nation to receive roof replacements,” the newspaper said.

Owens Corning supplies all the materials for the projects, the outlet continued:

John Pickard, a representative with Owens Corning Sales’ Raleigh Team, said the company has provided shingles for more than 225 veterans nationwide through its Roof Deployment Project. The company will pick a veteran in need, and then set up the project with an Owens Corning Platinum Contractor in the area of the veteran.

“This means a lot to us,” said Ras Homes of HRH Roofing in Raleigh. “It’s our way of saying ‘thank you for your service.’ I would do one of these every month, if I could.”

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County also helped with the project.

“We work with a lot of veterans,” said Kaitlyn Kopala, the organization’s communications and events coordinator. “We’ve worked on Torain’s house before, replacing some broken windows, repairing some electrical issues, and replacing porch railing.”

“The new roof through the Roof Deployment Project allows Habitat for Humanity to have the funds to do other repairs on Torain’s home,” she noted.

In a Facebook post on January 27, the organization shared photos of Torain outside his house, writing that the veteran “served as a parachutist in the Army from 1958-1962. Thank you for your service to our county”:

The elderly veteran said he grew up in Orange County and previously lived across the road from his current location.

“I helped build this house in 1974 with a lot of my family, and I’m happy to see the new roof go on,” he commented.