An Army veteran battling terminal cancer got a freshly painted home in Mission this week, courtesy of a crew of South Texas College students who spent the morning covering the house in new coats of paint. KRGV identified the veteran as Roger Luna, who called the gesture a dream come true.
KRGV reported that 20 South Texas College students took on the home makeover for Roger Luna, a Korean and Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army, as he continues his fight against terminal cancer.
A Tradition Rooted in South Texas College's Construction Program
This is not the first time STC students have shown up with paint rollers for a local veteran. The college says its students have contributed to Habitat for Humanity, Mi Casita and local rehabilitation efforts for more than a decade, according to news.southtexascollege.edu. That track record has made home-painting projects something of a signature community effort for the school's construction program.
Much of that recent work has come through a partnership with McAllen-based Armored Painting and its Operation Veteran Paint Project. Per the same college account, the program is designed so that, each year just in time for Veterans Day, friends and family nominate a local veteran who then receives a complete home exterior makeover at no cost. It is not established whether this week's project in Mission was part of that specific annual program.
Previous Projects Honored Veterans From Two Different Wars
Armored Painting founder Jose Robledo has described the effort as a yearly commitment, telling the college, “We have done this every year for the last four years, painting the exterior of a veteran's home for free.” One earlier recipient was Raudel Moreno, a McAllen veteran whose home STC and Armored Painting tackled for Veterans Day. The college's account, carried by Texas Border Business, states that more than 50 students and volunteers from STC assisted in painting Moreno's home, an Air Force veteran. KRGV's own coverage of that same project put the number differently, reporting that a group of 50 volunteers showed up to paint the home.
News.southtexascollege.edu described Moreno as a 78-year-old disabled Vietnam War veteran who had lived in the home for nearly 60 years. Another project in the series restored the home of Frank De La Rosa Sr., a 90-year-old Korean War veteran, with more than 25 students from STC's Construction Supervision program partnering with Armored Painting for what was billed as the third annual Operation Veteran Paint Project. Family members said De La Rosa's home dated back to 1945, had housed seven children over the years, and had survived Hurricane Beulah in 1967.
A Continuing Community Effort
STC's students have made a habit of showing up for local veterans with paintbrushes in hand, year after year.
