Santa Rita Ranch, Highland Homes and Operation Finally Home Honor Veteran David DeTuccio with Mortgage-Free Home

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- November 11 is a day set aside to honor veterans for their service and sacrifice—this year, Santa Rita Ranch partnered with Operation Finally Home and Highland Homes to provide one brave veteran and his family with a tangible token of our nation's gratitude.  Operation Finally Home, a national non-profit organization, partners with experienced builders and welcoming communities like Santa Rita Ranch to pair wounded, ill or injured veterans with homes that fit their (and their family's) needs.

One such deserving veteran was honored on Saturday, November 12, at the TX vs. West Virginia game in Austin, TX. David DeTuccio, a Purple Heart recipient, knew he and his family were in town to be interviewed by Operation Finally Home. When he was invited onto the field for the coin toss, he had no idea he and his family were about to be presented with a mortgage-free Highland home in the Santa Rita Ranch community.

DeTuccio, who joined the military in 2007, was deployed in Baghdad in 2008, where his unit, the 10th Mountain Division 2nd Infantry 30th Battalion, was known for being involved in raids and extractions. On Feb. 19, 2008, they were ambushed outside their compound. DeTuccio was struck with an improvised rocket-propelled explosive device, and was transported to Balad Air Base trauma center. Multiple surgeries and therapies followed, leaving DeTuccio with shrapnel wounds, severe PTSD, memory loss, headaches, and seizures among other recurring difficulties.

As DeTuccio, his wife Nicole, and their four children stepped onto the field, they knew they wanted to move to Austin, TX—but had no idea their dream was so close to becoming a reality. During an on-field presentation, they learned they were the recipients of a mortgage-free Santa Rita Ranch home, the second veteran family Operation Finally Home has connected with the community. The family will move in this summer, and DeTuccio can already see the way their lives will change. As he told TexasSports.com, "It will change our family lineage. When you don't have an expense, such as a mortgage, you can spend that extra money on education. Now I feel I can ask my kids, 'What do you want to be—a  doctor, a lawyer—those now become possibilities.'"

Santa Rita Ranch is a 3,100-acre community located north of Austin near Liberty Hill, two miles off 183 North, just north of the Hwy 29 and Ronald Reagan intersection. It is developed by Elizabeth and Ed Horne and Mariner Real Estate, with a distinctive Hill Country style.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151029/282037LOGO

SOURCE Santa Rita Ranch