Mortgage-Free House Built for a Disabled Veteran in Moorhead

Eric Marts and his wife lived in a trailer for twenty years

MOORHEAD, Minn. — If you ask Eric Marts what it’s like being a hero, he’ll tell you he isn’t one.

“Oh I’m very reluctant on that part as far as, I did my job and I’ll continue to do my job,” Eric Marts said.
I served with heroes.”

But others would disagree with him.

“He’s a patriot. He’s a great American,” Senator Heidi Heitkamp said.

Eric Marts is an Army Master Sergeant General.

In 2006 he went to Iraq where two IED blasts caused swelling in his optic nerves and made him blind.

But it didn’t stop him from helping others.

“He kept serving our country, and he kept serving our vets,” Heitkamp said.

Homes for Our Troops is a national group which builds mortgage-free homes for severely injured veterans.

They built a house named “Sally,” equipped with the technology to fit his needs.

Sally will talk to Marts and help him get around.

But for the family, it’s special in more ways than one.

This is the first home Marts and his wife will ever live in.

They’ve lived in a trailer for over 20 years.

“I still keep pinching myself. I felt at home,” said Eric’s wife Bobbi Marts. “I think seeing all my children and our grandchildren in here and our family members, I was like ‘wow’ I can’t wait for Christmas.”

But Eric Marts feels something else too.

“I can feel the love that it is given,” he said.

He’s just glad about one thing.

“I was told it was yellow, I hope that is true,” Eric said. “My wife said something about painting something pink.”

In the land of the free, it’s a home fit for a brave veteran.

“We’ve got the perfect home now,” Eric said.

“Yeah, we do,” Bobbi said. “It’s unlike anything we’ve ever dreamed of.”

Marts continues to give back to other veterans on his radio show “Heroes of the Heartland.”

The show tells the stories of veterans and tries to help people understand the issues they face daily.