After serving 13 years in the military, retired U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Clint Myatt was surprised to receive a new home just in time for the holidays.
The joy Myatt felt when he heard he was getting a house — free of charge and completely built — from Wells Fargo was mirrored by the feeling he got when he saw the look on his wife Jacki’s face, along with his six children.
“I have not seen the happiness and joy they were displaying in a long time,” he said. “I know they have been longing for a place to settle down and call home, and now they have it. I plan on making a lot of memories here with my wife and kids.”
The home, in Tarboro, N.C., was also filled with holiday gifts for Myatt and his family as the retired military man unlocked and opened the front door to a place he hopes will provide a million memories.
Myatt and his family were recipients of the Wells Fargo Military Warriors Support Foundation’s Home4WoundedHeroes program, which provides mortgage-free homes for combat-wounded veterans and their families as well as financial mentorship to help ease the transition from military to civilian life.
“We hope this is just the beginning of wonderful memories this family will create in their home,” said Eileen Fitzgerald, head of housing affordability philanthropy at Wells Fargo.
The Wells Fargo vetting team reviews each applicant for a home, conducts interviews and collects support documentation, and final round applicants are submitted to a selection committee who reviews each applicant and makes the final selection on who is the best fit for that particular home.
Since 2012, Wells Fargo has donated more than 400 homes, valued at over $60 million, to veterans in all 50 states. In the case of Myatt’s family, Wells Fargo will also provide a three-year financial counseling mentorship to aid the family going forward.
Myatt, who retired from the military in 2018, was first deployed to Iraq in 2007, and then to Afghanistan in 2010. He was injured during his second deployment in December of 2010 when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was presented with the Purple Heart after recovering from his injuries. Myatt said his time in the military was “bittersweet,” and he’s looking forward to life at home with his family.
“I would be lying if I said I loved every second of my time on active duty,” he said. “There were good times, and there were bad. There were highs and lows. I will say that I cherished every good moment, and that’s what I try to hold onto today to help me move forward. It was an honor to serve my great country and I would do it again in a second.”
Myatt specifically mentioned the family-sized table already inside when he and his family walked through the doors – the first table they’ve ever had, he said, that could fit each member of the family at the same time.There was also a fully stocked pantry, a bathroom with brand new fixtures, and presents under a giant Christmas tree for the children.
“The house is just perfect,” he said. “It’s going to take a huge burden off mine and my wife’s shoulders. We have so many kids, and it just takes a huge weight off our shoulders and our mental health, knowing we don’t have a mortgage payment every month.”
The fact that Myatt and his family received the home — and right before Christmas, at that — made it that much more special.
“For those organizations to even think of us, to even have us in mind, it’s just wonderful,” he said. “It was a special feeling knowing that all of the hard work me and my family had put in over the years was being recognized and awarded with such an amazing blessing.
“The kindness of the people at Wells Fargo and Military Warriors Support Foundation has affected me in such a positive way. I am forever indebted. They are such an amazing group of people,” he said
To read the full March issue of HousingWire Magazine, click here.
