Disabled veteran finds a home in San Ramon - Inside Bay Area

Disabled veteran finds a home in San Ramon - Inside Bay Area: "Disabled veteran finds a home in San Ramon
Local group helps ex-soldier, family get settled in new lives
By Jeanine Benca, STAFF WRITER
Article Created: 04/21/2008 02:30:56 AM PDT


SAN RAMON — From where Army Sgt. Victor Thibeault sits these days, next to his wife and toddler on a new sofa in the couple's spotless San Ramon apartment, explosions and gunfire seem like bad dreams from another lifetime.
A quick glance at his partially amputated left hand reminds the 26-year-old decorated war veteran that the places he has been are real.
Thibeault is the latest beneficiary of Sentinels of Freedom, a 5-year-old program that sets up wounded veterans with housing, jobs and other aid when they return from overseas.
The mission of the Sentinels, started by local residents after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, is to honor vets with tangible benefits that will help them get on with their lives, founder Mike Conklin said."
"I got these guys to help me, but I got lucky. What if they hadn't been there?" Thibeault said with a shudder. "There's no way I could ever thank Mike and Peggy and the Blue Star Moms enough," referring to Conklin, his wife and her support group for military mothers.