There were nearly 150 guests Saturday morning when U.S. Marine Corporal Anthony Trzeciak and his family were presented with their new mortgage-free home in Riverview.

The gift was courtesy of Building Homes for Heroes, an organization that makes designing personalized homes for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan their business.

  • U.S. Marine Corporal Anthony Trzeciak was presented with mortgage-free home Saturday
  • The gift came from Building Homes for Heroes
  • Trzeciak was paralyzed in 2011 after serving in Afghanistan

Trzeciak enlisted in the Marines in 2008.

In 2011, while serving in Afghanistan, his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, or an IED.

Trzeciak, who was the vehicle's gunner, injured his back and head in the blast. Afterward, he contracted a near-deadly infection that led to him becoming paralyzed from the waist down.

Four years after returning to civilian life, Trzeciak, his wife Tara, and the couple's two young children moved into what Kim Valdyke, Building Homes for Heroes Florida events planner and volunteer coordinator, hopes will be their "forever home."

“It was just an awesome day,” said Valdyke. “We gift the Trzeciak family their forever home today.”