Building homes for heroes

Standing on the putting green at the Hempstead Country Club on Monday, Army Ranger William Castillo, 29, couldn’t believe the turn his life had taken since he returned from his third tour of duty in the Middle East in 2007.
Two years ago, Castillo was struggling, to say the least. He had lost the lower half of his left leg when his platoon struck a roadside bomb while patrolling Fallujah, Iraq. A firefight with insurgents ensued, and Castillo was shot five times, twice in the head.
He spent nearly two years recovering at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., and was having a hard time financially. He didn’t know where to turn, he recalled, so he reached out to Building Homes for Heroes, an organization that helps severely wounded and disabled veterans rebuild their lives. He was just looking for some help, but what happened next took Castillo completely by surprise.
The organization, founded by Island Park resident Andy Pujol and based in East Rockaway, hosted its 5th annual golf outing/fundraiser at the Hempstead Country Club on Aug. 31, and used the proceeds to buy the mortgage of a foreclosed home in Orlando, Fla., for Castillo, his wife and their four children. The home will be renovated and made handicapped-accessible. Each year, the money raised at the annual outing benefits another disabled veteran.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Castillo said. “As a man, all you want to do is provide for your family. I mean, a mortgage-free home? There’s nothing I
can say. It’s simply amazing.”
More than 160 golfers participated in the fundraiser, each donating $450. The event raised more than $75,000. Pujol said he had been planning the event for four months, and it attracted the biggest turnout he has seen in the five years the organization has hosted the tournament.
“William is a walking miracle,” Pujol said. “He got shot five times, survived an explosion ... and he needed our help.”