“There are great Army brothers that are out there today, that are alive today because of the efforts of this great American hero,” declared Stephen Page of the heroic efforts of Army Sgt. Christopher Bales. Page, director of corporate sponsorships for Operation Finally Home, described the incident in Afghanistan that left Sgt. Bales wounded with a partially paralyzed leg.

Thursday, Bales was the recipient of a newly-built, fully-furnished, mortgage-free home courtesy of Operation Finally Home, Pulte Homes and its subcontractors and suppliers. Cooper Roofing & Solar donated all of the labor and materials for the roof and the rooftop solar system, with Boral Roofing donating the concrete roof tile for the home.

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, Congressman Joe Heck and PulteGroup’s Las Vegas division president Scott Wright also delivered remarks at the dedication ceremony marking the occasion and honoring the service and sacrifice of Sgt. Bales. Cooper Roofing & Solar’s Scott Donnelly, Mike Pullen, Cameron Donnelly and Rocco Prock were among the dozens of employees of companies participating in the construction of the home who attended the dedication ceremony.

Governor Sandoval welcomed Bales to his home, declaring, “To have a hero like you, a man who has selflessly served our country, I want to thank you on behalf of all the people of the state of Nevada, from the bottom of my heart, for your service to our country.”

Bales was shot in the lower back and thigh as he left his position to draw fire upon himself and away from the other members of his unit as they were ambushed in 2010. Sgt. Bales served in both Iraq and Afghanistan after joining the Army in 2006.

“We owe our returning veterans, especially those from the last twelve years of conflict an incredible debt of gratitude. It’s a debt that we will never, ever be able to fully repay,” stated Congressman Heck. “But it’s programs like this that show just how much we care and how hard we try to repay that never-ending debt that we will always hold. So again thank you to you and your family for your service to our nation.”

“When you think about what a true hero is, I really feel that Christopher Bales represents that and that’s why we’re so proud and honored to be here today,” Wright said. “Hopefully it’s the home of his dreams.”

From Sgt. Bales’s reaction, it is.

During the ceremony, he received the keys to his new home from Pulte’s Brandon Laughter and Alan Jenkins, whom Wright singled out to praise their efforts on the project. It was the first time Bales was able to see the inside of the new home he and two sons will live in. At one point, while looking at all the furnishings and accessories in the home, he looked in amazement and asked Laughter, “Is this stuff mine?”

“I just want to thank everybody involved,” Bales said to reporters after the ceremony. Bales described the home as “beautiful” and “breathtaking” and stated he was “blown away” by the ceremony.

“We’re proud to participate in Operation Finally Home,” declared Cooper Roofing & Solar president Scott Donnelly. “It’s a great program and we’d like to thank PulteGroup and all of our fellow subcontractors and suppliers who participated. We’re excited to honor the service and sacrifice of Sgt. Bales and other heroes through programs like Operation Finally Home.”