If you’ve ever met retired Army Sgt. Travis Mills, you know just what an inspiration he is to so many people and so many wounded veterans.
Mills lost his arms and legs when an improvised explosive device detonated in Afghanistan. Because of it, the retired sergeant has faced challenge every day. But life just got a little easier for this deserving soldier.
The special day started with a motorcade escorting Mills and his family to their new home. Daughter Chloe, 3, poked her head through the sunroof to wave to everyone. When Mills stepped out of the driver’s seat, people started cheering. “All right, let’s give a round of applause to Travis Mills.”
Mills told a crowd of supporters, “I got hurt April 10 — an earth-shattering moment. No arms and legs. What am I going to do?”
He recalled the day he was told that actor Gary Sinise, who played an amputee in the movie “Forrest Gump,” was going to build him a house. He couldn’t believe it at first, but it was true.
He was told, “We’re going to build you a house whenever you’re ready, wherever you want.” In his best Forrest Gump voice, Mills told the crowd, “I tell you what. I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is.”
Unfortunately, Sinise couldn’t be present to welcome Mills to his new home, but the executive director of his foundation read a letter he wrote to Mills.
Judy Otter read Sinise’s letter aloud, which said, in part: “Travis sacrificed so much of himself in service to our country. Welcome home, my friend. May God bless you always and may God bless our great country. Your pal, Gary Sinise.”
Then came time to move the giant American flag blocking the view of their new Maine home.
“Move that flag!” Chloe mills said.
Mills told everyone he moved to his wife’s home state to thank her for all she has done for him. In an emotional voice, Mills told the crowd listening to his every word, “I’m proud to still be part of the family, cause when I got blown up and she was next to me, I said, ‘Just take Chloe and whatever we have in the bank account and go.’ You know, ‘Don’t put up with this.’”
Getting off the elevator, Mills showed us his favorite part of his new home. “So this is the man cave area,” he said of the room with a big-screen TV and plenty of his favorites — Hot Pockets.
For his wife, Kelsey, the smart home is its best feature.
“If Travis is here by himself, he doesn’t have to come downstairs to turn the lights off or turn the alarm on,” she said. “He can do it all from the iPad (or iPhone).”
After waiting patiently, daughter Chloe finally got to play on the new swing set. As she came down the spiral slide, her dad said, “Whoa. Good job.”
“We still haven’t really grasped that this is real yet,” Kelsey Mills said. “It’s great to have Chloe play on her own playground. And tonight, we’re really excited to move into our house, sleep here for the first time.”
Travis Mills, a Michigan native, has come a long way from the day he nearly died in April 2012. He is the fifth quadruple amputee from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. These days, he is making it his mission to help other wounded warriors, hosting a camp for them in Maine through his own foundation and traveling around the country as a motivational speaker.