Many men and women return injured or disabled after serving in the armed forces. They often need things for accessibility that they may never have considered before being injured. These wounded war heroes are being helped by another kind of hero.

When Dan Wallrath, a homebuilder from Texas helped renovate the home of wounded Marine, he said he found his mission in life, reported CNN. Since 2005, Wallrath has helped injured or disabled veterans by giving them mortgage-free homes of their own. He realized how difficult the transition from battlefront to home front can be to thousands of returning veterans who were injured and need wheelchair ramps and accessible bathrooms and doorways. Wallrath started Operation Finally Home which helps disabled or wounded veterans by providing free custom-made homes.

After Wallrath was honored as one of the year’s top 10 CNN Heroes, he says the donations have been pouring in. Wallrath told CNN, “We give (families) a hand up, not a handout. … They just need a little help in life to get them started.” He said America is  stepping up to help these injured returning veterans.

The publicity from CNN led “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to contact Wallrath. Together, they worked on a project to build a home for one of the victims of the 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas. Wallrath, the Extreme Makeover team, and over 4,000 volunteers were able to complete a 2,800-square foot, three-bath, three-bedroom home in 100 hours. The Extreme Makeover episode will air in February.

“You know, sometimes I feel selfish because I feel so good all the time about seeing these lives changed,” Wallrath said to CNN. “Now, we’re going to be able to change a lot more.”

Total value of the homes that Bay Area Builders Association have completed is 1.2 million dollars. Their cost to build the homes was $75,000.00. People can donate to Operation Finally Home on Wallrath’s website to help America’s wounded war heroes get a customized and accessible home.

Here is a video of Wallrath that will make you feel good and show why he is a CNN Hero.

Image credit: NYCMarines