nearly one in ten vets living with a disability are unemployed right now. 900,000 need food stamps just to make ends meet. things that would mike life easier for a disabled vet are sometimes impossible for them to afford. talking about a new ramp, a rehabbed bathroom to accommodate a wheelchair. but a brave veteran is committed to making their lives better. to share his new mission is a proud supporter of only make believe, a group devoted to entertaining sick kids. please help welcome josh lucas. [ applause ] thank you, anderson. i m very, very proud to be here tonight underneath this magnificent whale, celebrating with cnn heroes what i think is the greatest thing a human being can do, which is to give back. now, our next cnn hero dale beatty said if you can speak honestly, then you don t have to use a teleprompter and you don t
school sweetheart and his two kids. and he honestly wasn t sure what he was going to do. at this point, john, also injured, stepped back in and said with his community that they were going to build a home. and in the process, they built something magnificent. this gave john the idea, and dale the huge idea for what they called purple heart homes, to assist disabled veterans, no matter when they served. dale s group is there with hammers in hand to build, renovate, and rehab homes for free. he also takes donated foreclosed homes, fixes them up, and secures veterans with low-cost mortgages, with 30 projects completed, dale does more than open new doors for his brothers in arms. he shows them a community that s ready to serve them with all of their hearts.
figure out how he could build the home that he dreamed to build for him and his high school sweetheart and his two kids. and he honestly wasn t sure what he was going to do. at this point, john, also injured, stepped back in and said with his community that they were going to build a home. and in the process, they built something magnificent. this gave john the idea, and dale, the huge idea for what they called purple heart homes, to assist disabled veterans, no matter when they served. dale s group is there with hammers in hand to build, renovate, and rehab homes for free. he also takes donated foreclosed homes, fixes them up, and secures veterans with low-cost mortgages, with 30 projects completed, dale does more than open new doors for his brothers in arms. he shows them a community that s ready to serve them with all of
rehabbed as well. they made me realize the challenges that i ve had to endure meant something. they jump started me back into life. purple heart homes, it s a welcome home. it s great to be home after 40 years. regardless of when you serve, where you serve, we re all the same. we re all veterans. they just need to know that somebody does care about them. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming cnn hero dale beatty. [ applause ]
now, our next cnn hero dale beatty said if you can speak honestly, then you don t have to use a teleprompter and you don t have to memorize your speech. so i will at least do the first part without. almost 20 years ago, dale and his friend john, they became great friends, joined the national guard together, and they had a long, great friendship, you know, serving this country. and almost exactly nine years ago tonight, today, on a clear, crisp day in iraq, john was driving and dale was filming and they were telling stories and in a sense, having as good of a time they could have, when they were hit by a roadside bomb. their lives were immediately and instantly changed forever. dale had both of his legs amputated below the knee, and when he was in the recovery for the next year, he lied with his two young children and tried to