Desert Storm veteran from Leland receives long-awaited home renovation

For 14 months, Freddie Smith slept on an air mattress in his Leland home.

There was no heat, no air conditioning, no floors. Smith walked through his home on boards of plywood that had been placed on top of the floor joists.

Smith’s home was first damaged in 2018 by Hurricane Florence. Then, in July 2021, the home’s hot water heater pipe burst, sending water through a wall in his living room and flooding the home. The Army veteran said water was standing in the home two to three inches deep.

When Steve Muir with the American Legion Post 543 in Southport walked into Smith’s home in February of last year, he wasn’t convinced it would ever be fully repaired.

“We have done dozens of projects,” Muir said. “Nothing on this scale.”

Today, after years of repairs, his home is unrecognizable with new walls, cabinets, countertops, vanities and floors.

“This has been a long, long process and I thank everybody for being there,” said Smith during a “Mission Complete Ceremony” on Monday.