One Army veteran says he feels like he won the lottery after he received the surprise of a lifetime: a call from actor Gary Sinise notifying him that his home mortgage had been paid off for good.
In honor of Veteran’s Day, this year, Veterans United Home Loans paid off the mortgages of 10 former U.S. military. Bill Day, an ex-sailor, is one of those.
Sinise made a surprise screen call to Day to inform him of the good news.
Day’s delight at receiving a call from the famous actor quickly transformed to utter shock at the news.
“What? Me?” Day asked. “No, I don’t deserve that.”
But Sinise insisted that the Navy veteran, who’d enlisted at the age of 18 and served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, definitely deserved it.
“No, no, no,” Sinise said. “You served your country, you’re taking care of your family. You’ve met those challenges with grace and dignity.”
The modest single dad to four kids says it was a surreal experience.
Pam Swann, VP and National Military Relations director at Veterans United, says that Day’s dedication to making the world a better place makes him an ideal recipient of this generous offering.
“He continues to try to make the world a better place, and he does it at the basis of giving up a lot of his own things that he’s earned through life,“ she said, ”but he gives them up to try to help family, to help others and it just really spoke volumes to us that he deserved a hand up.”
Veterans United started the Veterans Day campaign in an effort to give veterans real recognition for their sacrifices, not just a passing “thank you.”
Every time someone posts in a tweet, “Thank you for your service,” the organization contributes $25 to mortgage funds for the veterans selected.
And surely, this is one “thank you” veterans like Day will never forget.
