WENDELL, N.C. (AP) - On Sept. 5, 2019, Army Sgt. 1st Class Elis Barreto was killed in action in Afghanistan, leaving behind his wife, Legna Barreto, and their three children. He was 34.
Legna Barreto said her husband always wanted to own a home for his family.
“One of his biggest dreams was to one day be able to provide a house for our family,” Legna Barreto said.
On Veterans Day, just over a year after his death, Barreto stood in front of her family’s new house, given to them by area organizations and businesses as part of a project called Operation: Coming Home.
“Today, I see his dream come true,” she said.
The home, located in Wendell Falls, was built in conjunction with the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, the U.S. Veterans Corps and several businesses in the Triangle.
They team up to give wounded veterans and the widows of fallen soldiers a new home.
“It’s an honor that this house was built because of my husband,” Barreto said in an interview. “We are very proud of that.”
She said it’s been hard since he was killed. She had worried about where she and her family - two sons and a daughter - would live long-term. She doesn’t have family in the area. She and her husband are both from Puerto Rico, which is where they met.
“It’s like a dream,” Barreto said. “It’s a huge weight off my shoulder.”
KILLED IN AN EXPLOSION
Elis Barreto joined the military in August 2010, and graduated in 2017 from Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to Fort Bragg in 2018 where he was a paratrooper in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
“He was smart, funny, always ready to help, no matter who you were,” Legna Barreto said. “And he was a great husband. He enjoyed being a dad.”
He deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel when he was killed in a vehicle explosion in Kabul.
His death had political implications. President Donald Trump cited Barreto’s death as the reason peace negotiations with the Taliban failed late last year, according to a report from The New York Times and other media outlets.
His awards and decorations included the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Combat Action Badge, The News & Observer reported.
Eric Jnah, 43, was Elis Barreto’s Battalion Commander. Those who fought alongside him looked up to him, he said. He was seen as a father figure, and fellow soldiers called him “Papi.”
“He wasn’t just a soldier. He was a leader,” Jnah said. “Losing him hit everyone hard.”
HOW THE HOME CAME TOGETHER
This was the 22nd home built with the Operation: Coming Home project and the second built in Wake County. The first home was built in Knightdale.
Garman Homes, a local home building company, built the Barretos’ home in collaboration with the Operation: Coming Home project.
Newland Communities, the real estate developer for the neighborhood, donated the lot where the house was built. Keller Williams Realty, which operates across the Triangle, donated $50,000 to the project.
The Town of Wendell waived all of the permit fees.
All but one of the Operation: Coming Home houses have been built in North Carolina. The other is in South Carolina.
‘YOU’RE ONE OF US NOW’
Wendell Mayor Ginna Gray welcomed the family to the town.
“Here in Wendell, everyone’s been talking about it. We’ve all been so looking forward to your family being here,” Gray said. “We’re ready to wrap our arms around you and your family. You’re one of us now.”
Shinica Thomas, who was recently elected to the Wake County Commissioners’ sixth district, thanked the Barreto family for Elis’ service. Thomas, the wife of an Air Force veteran and the daughter of an Army veteran, thanked Legna for supporting her husband.
“I absolutely don’t think the spouses get enough credit for all of the work that they do and all the time that they spend and all of the support that they give,” Thomas said.
Legna Barreto said she looks forward to building a new life with her family in the house they’ve been given.
“We are very happy. We are ready to create new memories here,” Barreto said. “To see my boys grow and be happy, just enjoy life but also remember that sacrifice.”
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