A U.S. Army veteran who lost his sight during a suicide bomber attack in Syria while deployed in 2019 was given a fully renovated home.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation welcomes home catastrophically injured veteran United States Army Major Jonathan Turnbull and his family into their new mortgage-free smart home in Michigan. ???
— Tunnel to Towers Foundation (@Tunnel2Towers) November 2, 2023
Major Turnbull’s home is specially adapted for his needs. ❤️
Learn more:… pic.twitter.com/kil5YTTLpV
According to People Magazine, Maj. Jonathan Turnbull and his family were selected to have their home paid off and fully renovated thanks to a charitable partnership between talk show host Drew Barrymore, The Home Depot Foundation, and the Tunnels to Towers Foundation.
Last week, the home in Gaylord, Michigan, was finished, complete with new smart technology to aid Turnbull.
He said, “It’s absolutely wonderful.”
“They’ve given us hope for the future because they’re letting us know: ‘No matter what happens, obstacles, adversity you might face, we’re here to help,’ he went on.
Turnbull served five tours of duty, taking him to Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria.
In 2019, he was offered the opportunity to come home, but volunteered to remain in Syria doing humanitarian work. His job was to help girls safely attend school.
His wife, Samantha Turnbull, stated, “I knew how much he loved his job. I said, ‘Wear your helmet and be safe.’”
Jonathan had promised to call the morning of the explosion. Her phone went off with alerts of an ISIS bomber in the city where he had been headed, Manbij.”
Upon filtering through news footage, she recognized her husband’s truck. “That’s when I knew Jon was in that explosion,” she said.
Army officials told her that he wouldn’t make it. Despite having little chance of survival, Turnbull pulled through.
Samantha Turnbull said, “We had different miracles happen throughout his recovery.”
One of those miracles is the free home renovation.
Turnbull noted, “They had solutions to problems we didn’t even know we had.”
The custom home has special pathways to help Turnbull through the house. “I’m not going to get lost,” he said explaining that he could get to the baby’s room and back to his room with ease.
Turnbull also described how the smart technology helps him go about his daily life. “I’ll be able to get up in the morning and do more than just make some coffee. I could make some pancakes or something good to help Samantha out. She doesn’t have to worry about me burning the house down.”
Samantha Turnbull added, “This feels like a home now. We love it so much … we’re ready to start making memories here.”
They share sons Ian, 11, and Scotty, 2, and daughter Ellie, 1.
