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North Carolina Vet Receives a Hero’s Welcome
By Katie Marcum
 Last Nov. 15, the Iredell County Home Builders Association had no clue that an event halfway around the world would affect them so much in 2005. But it did, and it continues to serve as an inspiration for ICHBA and all of its members.
A graduate of West Iredell High School, Staff Sgt. Dale Beatty was in Iraq stationed at a base between Tikrit and Mosul. On Nov. 15, Beatty and fellow servicemen were riding in their armored Humvee when two anti-tank mines detonated and blew through the floor of the Humvee — right where Beatty was sitting. The Humvee was pushed more than 80 feet up the road.
Beatty’s next recollection was waking up alongside the vehicle, with his legs covered in debris and able to see out of only one eye.
”I asked God to let me see my boys again, and that’s all I wanted,” says Beatty. “For some reason I knew I was going to be OK.”
Were it not for the Humvee’s armored floor, Beatty believes he would have died there on the spot. An EMT within the unit managed to get to Beatty and stop his bleeding enough to transport him to an Iraqi hospital, where doctors amputated his right leg below the knee. Soon after, on Nov. 19, he was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C. where more disappointing news awaited. Doctors said that the long-term outlook for Beatty keeping the lower part of his left leg looked bleak. Beatty told them to take it off.
Beatty’s wife of three years, Belinda Summers, wondered if Beatty would take it hard and she didn’t know if she could handle the new situation. But her husband’s loving and generous spirit came through, and he was able to provide her the hope she needed.
“I’m awake, I’m still who I was before,” says Beatty. “I’m able to function in a fairly normal manner. I can dress myself. I can feed myself. I can bathe myself pretty much.”
One thing Beatty has been unable to do, however, is go home. When he was sent overseas, his wife and two small sons, Dustin and Lucas, moved out of their rented home and moved in with Belinda’s parents for some much-needed help with the boys. Now, Beatty is back stateside and working diligently to complete his rehab on his two new prosthetic legs.
His spirit is contagious. An overwhelming amount of support for Beatty has come in from all over the country, and especially from Statesville, his hometown. After Beatty’s local church, Monticello United Methodist, started collecting funds to help, ICHBA stepped in and approached the church to volunteer to build an accessible home for the family.
“We are thankful of the opportunity,” says Bunny Boyd, executive officer of the local association.
The response from ICHBA members has been generous. All labor is being completely donated. Statesville Brick has donated all of the brick of Beatty’s choice, 84 Lumber has donated $15,000 worth of materials, Great-Out-Doors Building Products Inc. has donated all of the windows and Professional Women in Building is decorating the house. Other building supplies and installation labor have also being donated, as well as monetary donations that keep coming in to both the church and the HBA.
Sam Parks of Parks Quality Heating & Air has spearheaded the building effort and met with Beatty on his visit home during the Easter holiday. Construction on the house began last month and the goal is to have it completed by October. Work continues on the basement, and the septic tank is the next item on the list. The more than 2,000-square-foot home is being built on a plot of family land given to Beatty by his father.
“How much good can come out of people is just amazing,” says Beatty.
Want to help? To contribute toward this effort, send an e-mail to Bunny Boyd at the Iredell County Home Builders Association, or call her at 704-881-0535.
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