CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A wounded Virginia Navy veteran and his family moved into a newly constructed, mortgage-free, specially adapted home in Chesapeake on Wednesday, provided by the Gary Sinise Foundation .

The 2,900-square-foot home, unveiled during a grand reveal on Tuesday, was designed to support retired U.S. Navy Commander Robert Ballard’s transition to life as a paraplegic following a helicopter crash in January 2021. The Ballards toured the home for the first time during the event.

Ballard has a long record of service, beginning when he entered the Naval Academy at just 18 years old in 1998. After graduating in 2002, he became a naval aviator, flying helicopters on missions ranging from deployments to the Middle East to relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

In 2007, Ballard marr

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