WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — More than 100 volunteers from 24 states made their way to the high country to build a home for a veteran in 12 days. It’s a mission they face once a year. 

What You Need To Know

  • A home is being built in Meat Camp by volunteers from 24 states

  • They are working to build a home in 12 days

  • The home will be given to a veteran in the area who was severely injured by an IED

Dylan Williamson has been building homes for years. Five years ago his father-in-law told him about a group that meets just once a year to do something a little different.

“This is my way of giving back,” Williamson said.

The group, called A Soldier’s Journey Home, is made up of veterans and firefighters who want to give back. Williamson is not either of those, but his father-in-law is. He does it for him.

“By the time you leave after that, two weeks, my family grew by 100-plus people,” Williamson said,

Volunteers travel from all around the country building homes for a veteran who needs help. This year the home is going up just outside of Boone in Meat Camp. They are building it for former Army Cpl. Taylor Harter, who was seriously injured from an IED explosion in Iraq in 2008. Some of his platoon members were killed and others injured.

They are building an entire handicap-accessible house.

It’s a rewarding experience, Williamson said, which is why A Soldier's Journey Home President Paddy Neville says it started. He is a retired lieutenant for the New York City Fire Department and also a former member of the military.

“These guys answered the call after 9/11. They did what they had to do. We knew that, a lot of them, unfortunately you know because of what they did after that, they’re signing up to go into the military,” Neville said.

The group was formed in 2014.

The home will be given to the family on the June 17. If you would like to help A Soldier’s Journey Home you can check out its website here.