A Marine Corps veteran from the Sacramento area was awarded a mortgage-free home in Williams.
Wells Fargo Bank presented Sgt. Mohamad Akhtar, a firefighter and Purple Heart recipient from Orangevale, the keys to his new house in Williams on Thursday.
Akhtar was awarded the house through the Homes 4 Wounded Warriors, a program from the Military Warriors Support Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that works with contributors such as Wells Fargo to provide homes for veterans injured in service.
“We’re just so honored and awed that such a great thing would happen to him,” Rae Williams, Akhtar’s former father-in-law, said.
Family and friends attended a short ceremony outside Akhtar’s new home.
Manny Delgadillo, regional diverse segment manager for Wells Fargo Bank in the Central Valley, presented Akhtar with the keys to the house and said Akhtar was one of six nationwide to receive a home donated by Wells Fargo. The bank has donated more than 200 homes to veterans since 2013, Delgadillo said.
Akhtar, an administrator for the Department of Veterans Affairs at McClellan Air Force Base, said he first heard about the Homes 4 Wounded Warriors program about a year ago from friends who had received their homes through the program. He applied soon after, Akhtar said, and heard about two months ago that he would be receiving a home in Williams.
“Me being a daughter of a Marine, there’s nothing I like more than people recognizing the military,” Taylor Akhtar, Akhtar’s 16-year-old daughter, said.
Taylor Akhtar said her father called her at school as soon as he was notified that he would be receiving the home. She said she was happy her father would have this burden lifted off his shoulders.
Living in Williams would be different than being in the mi dle of the city, Taylor said, but she said she likes the calm atmosphere of the town.
Akhtar said this home will have a great positive impact in his life. For nine years, Akhtar served in the Marines as a firefighter. In addition, Akhtar said, he participated in two active service duties in Iraq as a linguist.
In July of 2004, Akhtar said, he was injured when two vehicle IEDs, homemade bombs attached to vehicles of some kind, stormed the compound at which he was stationed. He and five other Marines were injured during the attack, and he received a Purple Heart for his injuries.
After returning to civilian life, Akhtar said, he battled severe post-tramautic stress disorder for six years. He in a better place now, Akhtar said, but he still stuggles with the disorder.
Making the transition to civilian life after the rigors of the military is difficult, Akhtar said, and often veterans feel forgotten. Respect is a high character trait in the military, Akhtar said, and it’s difficult for veterans to return to civilian life with that structure gone.
Working closely with other veterans has helped him stay “normal,” Akhtar said, and he said being awarded a home in Williams is something Akhtar said will really help him as he continues find balance in his life.
“As citizens of this great country, I think we just wish people did things like this,” Akhtar said.
