Wounded war hero Spc. Charlie Lemon to receive free home

TAMPA - Last year on June 8, 2011, Army Spc. Charlie Lemon lost both his legs deployed overseas with the 3rd Armored Calvary out of Fort Hood, Texas.

An IED destroyed the Humvee Lemon was riding in, and he endured months of extensive rehabilitation at San Antonio Military Medical Center.

ABC Action News covered Lemon's homecoming as family and friends greeted him at Tampa International Airport back in April when he returned for a week in the Tampa Bay area.

"They said I would never walk," Lemon told us initially a few months back. "So the fact that I have prosthetics and I'm walking up to a half mile a day, so it's pretty incredible."

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Martin Gramatica and the organization Operation FINALLY HOME has a mission to provide custom built mortgage-free homes to wounded and disabled veterans and the widows of the fallen in an effort to get their lives back on track and become productive members of their communities.

Lemon will be the recipient of one of these homes, and there's a ceremony to celebrate the wall raising Monday morning at 1922 Gray Street in Tampa.

 "I am thrilled to be a recipient of a custom-built home," Lemon said.

"Gramatica SIPS International is pleased to support SPC Lemon and Operation FINALLY HOME in this extremely worthwhile endeavor," said Gramatica - president of Gramatica SIPS International . "There's no better feeling than knowing you've made a positive impact in someone's life."