U.S. Army Veteran in South Carolina Receives New Roof

By Cass Jacoby.  

Roofing contractor from family of veterans replaces roof with Owens Corning Deployment Project to thank U.S. Army veteran. 

“There are a lot of veterans in my family, my father was a Vietnam Veteran, my great grandmother was in the Women’s Corp, several of my uncles, and both my grandfathers are veterans. So, when we found out it was going to a veteran, I said we’d be glad to help,” Chris Merritt told WBTV. 

Chris is the owner of Merritt Roofing, who recently worked with the Owens Corning Deployment Program and Habitat for Humanity to gift another veteran a new roof.  

“We are giving him and his family of peace of mind for safety just as he has given us a peace of mind for defending our country,” says Chris. 

The lucky veteran is Jerome C. Thompson, who served in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1961.  

His roof was in rough shape, with an estimated replacement cost between $7,000 to $10,000. “If you’re living on social security or a pension, you don’t have the resources to do this kind of repair,” Director of Development for Habitat for Humanity of York County Ben Gair told WBTV. “It’s folks that need a hand up, not a hand out as we like to say.” 

Habitat for Humanity of York County helped Owens Corning and Merritt Roofing find a veteran in need. “They’ve presented us with the opportunity to live in a safe country. And so, it’s our opportunity to serve them,” says Ben.  

Since the Roof Deployment Project started in 2016, more than 250 military members across the country have received a new roof or their roof has been repaired. As for the Habitat for Humanity of York County they say this is one of 30 repair projects they'll be working on in 2021. 

Do you know of someone in the industry who is ‘doing good deeds’ in their community? Help us catch them at it. Send news and information to info@rooferscoffeeshop.com. 

Photo Source: WBTV 

About Cass  

Cass works as a reporter/writer for RoofersCoffeeShop and AskARoofer. When she isn’t writing about roofs, she is writing about movies for her master's degree and dancing with her plants.