Veteran Given Mortgage-Free Home In Shoreview

SHOREVIEW, Minn. (WCCO) -- On a quiet street in Shoreview, Lance Cpl. Tom Jacobson and his girlfriend Cassie are seeing their new home for the first time.

They've been renting a house with Tom's sister and two brothers, so this is a welcome change. Tom likes the kitchen with new appliances, and the bar in the basement. Cassie loves all the closet space.

They both appreciate the help from Wells Fargo and the Military Warriors Support Foundation. The three-bedroom home is mortgage-free, as part of the foundation's "Homes 4 Wounded Heroes" Program.

"Words really just can't express how lucky I feel, and truly blessed that these people are out there looking out for guys like me, you know," Jacobson said.

Jacobson was serving in Iraq in 2007 when he was wounded on his 20th birthday.

"We were going out to pick up a group of snipers because they'd been shot at," he said. "We ran over a command-detonated IED, sent us flying."

The burns and broken bones required 15 operations, and he couldn't walk for a year. But now he's a college student, hoping to become a history teacher. And he's enjoying the view off his new back deck.

"It's nice to have a backyard and place for the dogs to run," Jacobson said. "I'm sure I'll be finding stuff out for weeks of what I like here."

The program obtained the property through a foreclosure, and then fixed it up for Tom and Cassie.

Wells Fargo Bank has donated 86 properties to veterans, and this is the second one in Minnesota.