Tuesday groundbreaking ceremony to honor N. Merrick veteran

Kevin Vaughan, a Marine corporal who was wounded in Afghanistan and received a hero’s welcome when he returned home in 2012 to North Merrick, will now receive a free house, courtesy of Building Homes for Heroes.

Vaughan, his family and friends, local veterans and officials, and musical ensembles from Mepham High School, Vaughan’s alma mater, are among those slated to participate in a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday, marking the start of construction on a new, two-story house on Little Whaleneck Road between Abbot and Decker avenues.

Building Homes for Heroes, a Valley Stream nonprofit organization that built 17 houses for veterans last year and aims to complete 28 more this year, will give the house to Vaughan and his family, according to a Town of Hempstead press release. The town is also waiving building permit fees.

A roadside bomb wounded Vaughan and four other Marines on Sept. 28, 2011 in Afghanistan. He underwent numerous surgeries, including amputation of his left leg and reconstruction of his right leg with screws and rods. He then spent 15 months at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. before returning home to a parade in his honor, which hundreds of people attended.

More to follow after tomorrow’s ceremony.