Greenville Navy vet paralyzed in Syrian blast receives specially equipped home

POWAY, CA — A Greenville native and hometown hero, Kenton Stacy, and his family received the keys to their brand-new home Friday near San Diego, CA., to honor his service and sacrifice.

Retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, who received a Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal and three Navy Achievement Medals, was severely injured in Syria by an improvised explosive device (IED) in 2017.

The Gary Sinise Foundation built and provided Stacy, his wife and their four children with a new home to honor him for his service and sacrifice. The home is being provided mortgage free and is specially designed to ensure Kenton has greater accessibility and freedom of movement in and around the house.

>> Greenville grad, explosive ordnance disposal tech hit by IED in Syria

Stacy married his high school sweetheart before joining the U.S. Navy. He planned serving four years before furthering his education. However, he discovered that he loved the military and his job as an Explosive Ordinance Disposal technician, so he decided to continue in the military.

While serving in the U.S. Navy, Stacy was seriously injured on Nov. 19, 2017 by an IED. As a result, Stacy became a quadriplegic and was blinded in his left eye.

Prior to receiving the keys to their new home. Stacy and his family lived in a two-story home, which made it difficult for him to move through the house in a wheelchair. The new home is designed to significantly improve Stacy and his family’s quality of life as well as provide assistance to his wife, Lindsey, who is Stacy’s primary care person.

In November 2019, Stacy and his family returned to Greenville for the first time since the blast and was welcomed home with a hero’s welcome.

The home was built through a program called R.I.S.E from The Gary Sinise Foundation. The program builds specially adapted smart homes for the nation’s most severely wounded veterans and first responders, their caregivers and families. R.I.S.E provides the homes at 100% mortgage-free and they are designed to ease the daily challenges faces by these heroes and their families.

Cox Media Group