SGT LisaMarie Wiley

Garden Ridge, TX

Mission Accomplished on Sept. 14, 2019

 
After a few years in the workforce, LisaMarie Wiley joined the Army wanting to do better, not just for herself but for others as well.

She deployed twice to Afghanistan serving as a human intelligence collector with the HUMINT Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division. On Nov. 20, 2011, during her second deployment, Army Sergeant Wiley was supporting the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, in Pa’in Kalay, Afghanistan when she stepped on a daisy-chained improvised explosive device (IED). She sustained multiple injuries as a result of the blast, including the loss of her left leg below the knee.

While she was still recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center, she joined the Army’s Warrior Transition Battalion, which provides support to injured Servicemembers and helps them transition back to military or civilian life.

Now medically retired, LisaMarie enjoys tending to her garden, spending time outdoors, thrifting, and crafting metal and wood projects. She has plans to create a nonprofit organization as part of the Maker Movement that provides a space for the community to learn, teach, and be creative. She is currently pursuing a degree in communications at the University of Texas San Antonio. She already has a bachelor’s in fine arts from The Art Institute’s Miami International University of Art and Design and she has studied in the Cochise College Intelligence Studies program. She is also the consumer rep for the VA’s Federal Advisory Committee for Prosthetics and Special Disabilities.

Having a specially adapted custom Homes For Our Troops home mitigates LisaMarie’s daily challenges, opening up more time for her to focus on her future plans. In her previous home, the floors were uneven, causing LisaMarie to trip or fall while walking on her prosthetic. Now having a wheelchair accessible bathroom, she no longer fears falling while taking a shower. Most of all, LisaMarie is looking forward to raising a family in a barrier-free environment with her fiance Matt. “This home means I will not have to exist in my future unhappy. I am not my amputation, I am my future,” she says.

LisaMarie chose to remain in her home state of Texas to be close to the VA and family.

LisaMarie says she will never be able to fully express her gratitude, love, and admiration for HFOT’s donor and supporters who contributed to the building of her home. “You are giving me more than just a house, you are giving peace of mind to those who need it the most.”

related articles:

  • Spectrum News, Sept. 15, 2019 A wounded Army Veteran received a brand new home Saturday in Garden Ridge. The organization, Homes For Our Troops, presented a new set of keys, mortgage free to Army Sergeant LisaMarie Wiley. Read more.
  • KENS5, Sept. 14, 2019 On Saturday, community members and volunteers gathered to welcome retired U.S. Army Sgt. LisaMarie Wiley to her new home. Read more.
  • News4SA, Sept. 14, 2019 There was plenty of noise in the quiet town of Garden Ridge on Saturday. A hero’s welcome, for the woman who gave so much. Read more.
  • KENS5, Sept. 11, 2019 On Wednesday, for the Sept. 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance, more than a hundred volunteers joined the nonprofit organization Home For Our Troops to work on a special project: Transforming the landscape of SGT LisaMarie Wiley’s new home in Garden Ridge. Read more.
  • Herald-Zeitung Tribune, Sept. 8, 2019 Home For Our Troops will hold a Volunteer Day at Army veteran LisaMarie Wiley’s new special-adapted home in Garden Ridge on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 9 a.m. Read more.