A San Antonio Marine veteran who lost his leg in Afghanistan receives a mortgage-free, specially adapted home built to give him greater independence.

SAN ANTONIO — 15 years after a blast in Afghanistan changed his life, Marine Cpl. Johnathan Jaskolka walked into a home designed around the life he lives now.

The San Antonio-area firefighter, who lost his right leg at the knee in an IED blast while serving in Afghanistan, received the keys Saturday to a mortgage-free, specially adapted home from Homes For Our Troops.



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For Jaskolka, it is also a first.

“This will be the first home that I’m gonna be the homeowner of,” he said. “It’s unreal. I never envisioned that I’d have a home like this.”

The ranch-style home was designed to remain accessible if Jaskolka needs to use a wheelchair or crutches. It includes wider halls and doorways, automatic door openers, roll-under sinks and counters, pull-down shelving and other adaptations meant to give him greater independence.

Those changes are especially meaningful after years of living in homes that were not built for his needs.

Jaskolka said his family has rented homes where they could not make major accessibility modifications. After surgeries left him using a wheelchair or crutches, something as routine as taking a shower could become dangerous.

He described hopping on one leg over the metal railing of a shower because there was no easier way inside.

“I’ve broke a toe and had some nasty falls,” Jaskolka said. “Luckily I won’t have to do that anymore.”

The new home also gives his family something they have not had much of before: space.

Jaskolka said the larger yard will give his children and dogs more room. There is also a playground and a flagpole outside the home.

As he raised the flag at his new house, he said the moment was still difficult to process.

“I think all of it kind of still isn’t real,” Jaskolka said. “I’m probably gonna be pinching myself for the next couple years.”


Years before he applied

The path to Saturday’s ceremony began years earlier.

Jaskolka said he applied to Homes For Our Troops around 2019. After being accepted into the program, one of the longest parts of the process was finding a piece of land that met the organization’s accessibility requirements.

The property needed a limited grade so the ranch-style home could remain wheelchair friendly and avoid steps that could become barriers later.

But Jaskolka said an even bigger hurdle came before he ever filled out the application.

For years, people encouraged him to seek help through programs available to severely injured veterans. He resisted.

“It’s been 15 years since I was injured,” Jaskolka said. “I always felt like I wasn’t injured enough or hurt enough. A little bit of guilt involved.”

Eventually, he said, he overcame that feeling and applied.

Now, he wants other injured service members who may feel the same way to hear his story.

Jaskolka said veterans who qualify for programs such as Homes For Our Troops should not let guilt or the belief that someone else may need the help more keep them from seeking resources designed for them.


A home built for independence

Homes For Our Troops is a nonprofit that builds and donates specially adapted homes to severely injured post-9/11 veterans. The organization says its homes are designed to restore independence and allow veterans to focus on their families, recovery and rebuilding their lives.

H-E-B Operation Appreciation was among the community supporters of Jaskolka’s home.

For Jaskolka, though, the finished house is about much more than its accessibility features.

It is a place for his children, his dogs and his family to call their own.

“The whole thing is unreal,” he said. “I’m truly, truly, truly blessed and thankful to everyone involved.”