Tunnel to Towers presents wounded veteran new smart house

MAPLE HILL, NC (WWAY) — A veteran is finally moving into his newly finished smart home in Pender County.

For Tom McRae and his daughter Aidan, this is more than just a new house.

“It’ll make it not miserable to live in, because that’s what a normal house is,” McRae said.

After McRae lost both legs, an arm and an eye when he stepped on a bomb in Afghanistan, he had a new way of living.

“The new way of living was not being able to get into certain rooms,” McRae said. “Normal people don’t understand that.”

That is why the Tunnel to Towers Foundation built this house for him thanking him for his service and giving him a new way of living.

“The counter tops move up and down,” McRae said. “The cabinets move up and down.”

He said it also gives him a new way of being dad.

“I actually get to do a solo one on one act,” McRae said.

Mcrae said Aidan finally gets stability.

“The stability of, ‘that is my home,'” McRae said.  “It’s not going away. I’m done moving”

Tunnel to Towers made Aidan her own customized room with Frozen characters and McRae has his own man cave customized for one of his favorite activities.

“Smoking a cigar,” McRae said.

It is his own space.

“I need my own space and that’s something I’m really looking forward to and I’m sure my mom is too,” McRae said.

“He’s going to do the best as a dad and I’m very proud of him as a mom,” his mom Carolee Ryan said.

Tunnel to Towers, friends and family all helped present the new house to McRae and there was a familiar face in the crowd.

“I teared up, ’cause I know Tom earned this,” Tammy Motley said.

McRae gave his old house to Tammy Motley’s student with special needs last year for free.

“To see that it is finally here for him made me happy for him,” Motely said.

“I’m really glad so many people came out to support it,” McRae said.

It is a new way of living they can finally call home.

The Tunnel to Tower Foundation has built more than 40 smart houses across the country and they have committed to building 200.