Gary Sinise Foundation provides smart home to wounded Marine
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It was a picture-perfect day as Marine Corps Maj. Eric Burkett, seated in a wheelchair and flanked by two Marines who had served with him, raised the American flag in front of his new home in Lawrence County.
It was no ordinary Flag Day ceremony. And it was no ordinary home. The flag-raising marked the dedication of a handicappedaccessible smart home, courtesy of the Gary Sinise Foundation, for Maj. Burkett, his wife, Melissa, and their six children.
Moments earlier, officials from the Gary Sinise Foundation, which was founded by actor Gary Sinise to help severely wounded veterans, had just handed over the key to the home to Maj. Burkett, except that in this case, the key was actually an iPad, which will control many of the functions in the smart home.
Following in the footsteps of his father and both grandfathers who served in the military, Maj. Burkett was a Marine Corps pilot. He was two weeks into his sixth deployment in 2012 when he was involved in a crash while flying an MV-22B Osprey during Operation African Lion in Africa. He suffered injuries to his lower limbs and optic nerve, and both legs had to be amputated.
The Gary Sinise Foundation’s R.I.S.E. — Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment — program builds specially adapted smart homes across the country for wounded veterans and first responders. By the end of this year, the foundation will have built 66 homes across the U.S. Maj. Burkett’s home is the second in Pennsylvania, joining Marine Cpl. Doug Vitale, whose smart house was built in Peters in 2014.
When Maj. Burkett received a call from Gary Sinise informing him that he was selected for the program, he was asked a question. Where would you like to live for the rest of your life?
For Maj. Burkett, the answer has always been the New Castle area. He said he has fond memories of climbing oak trees, hunting and fishing at his grandparents’ farm there while his father was on leave. In their new home in Neshannock, just outside of New Castle, the Burkett family will be close to his parents, grandparents and aunt and uncle.
“I wanted it to be a place where there’s healing, where there’s love, where there’s security — not just for my family but for others who come and visit,” Maj. Burkett said. “Superman is crazy to go all the way to the North Pole to the Fortress of Solitude when we’ve got a little place like this in Western Pennsylvania.”
The Burketts’ new home was designed to make it easier for Maj. Burkett to do everyday things — such as reaching a shelf, helping in the kitchen, using the bathroom or getting to the basement