Gary Sinise Helps Dedicate Custom Home for Wounded Veteran

CHEVY CHASE, MD — An Army captain who survived five tours of duty in the Middle East and a near-fatal bomb attack on Veterans Day formally received the keys to a custom-built home adapted to his war wounds.

Capt. Luis Avila and his wife, Claudia, along with their three sons, received the new home in Chevy Chase Friday courtesy of the Gary Sinise Foundation. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in February for the Avilas' home, which was the 41st that the foundation built for wounded U.S. veterans.

The foundation started by actor Sinise – known for playing Lt. Dan Taylor in the film “Forrest Gump” and as the star of the TV series “CSI: NY” – was created in 2011. Its mission is to build custom Smart Homes for severely wounded veterans, serve meals to deploying troops and host spirit-boosting festivals for patients, families and medical staff at military hospitals.

Capt. Avila served five combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. On Dec. 27, 2011, an improvised explosive device detonated near Avila’s team. Three soldiers were killed by the blast and two others were severely wounded.

Avila lost his left leg, and suffered two strokes, two heart attacks, and severe lack of oxygen, which caused brain damage. He was left almost completely paralyzed.

According to the Sinise Foundation’s website, Avila was in a coma for 40 days. He continues to undergo extensive therapy at Walter Reed National Medical Center. Today he can see, speak, eat, laugh and tell jokes.

President Obama talked about Avila's recovery during a 2014 concert at the White House to salute the troops. He said, in part:

"(Avila) arrived in the United States in a coma and on life support. It was so dire that Claudia was forced to confront that agonizing question –- was it time for her to let him go, take him off life support?

"But if you have a chance to meet Claudia, she’s pretty strong and pretty stubborn. And she also had faith that Luis would recover. And as she prayed during those desperate days, she began playing — some of Luis’s — famous songs in the background: “Ode to Joy,” military marches, and some Beatles. And then he started twitching his facial muscles. And then he opened his mouth. And then he moved his tongue on command. And the whole time, Claudia was playing music day and night," the president said.

"And then finally, Luis woke up. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t talk. But he’d heard those songs. And in the months and years that followed, he kept fighting back with the help of hundreds of hours of music therapy. And today, Luis can see again, he can eat again, he can speak again. He’s even playing, as I understand, a little bit of golf. (Laughter.) And every night, he still goes to sleep with music playing."

»Defense Secretary Ash Carter, center, speaks with Army Capt. Luis Avila during a reception at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., June 30, 2015.