Fundraising is underway to repair the home of a soldier from unincorporated Fenton who was wounded in a vehicle accident on March 5 in Kuwait.
Sgt. Guy Penny, 35, survived the accident while two other soldiers were killed – Spc. Jackson Johnson, 20, of Hillsboro and Sgt. Holli R. Bolinski, 37, of Pinckneyville, Ill.
Penny’s sister, Marlene Herrell McGee of St. Charles, said her brother is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland recovering from a traumatic brain injury.
“Football players can get traumatic brain injuries – this is 10 times worse,” she said. “If he falls too hard and doesn’t even hit his head, it could kill him.”
McGee said her brother’s condition has improved since the accident, but he has a long way to go.
“He is doing a lot better,” McGee said. “It will get better. It just takes time. He wants to stay in the Army.”
McGee said she has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds so Penny’s mobile home in the Fenton area can be renovated to provide a “safe environment” for him.
“He’s been in the Army 11 years and he’s had the mobile home in Fenton for 10 years,” she said. “We’re trying to repair things for him. He won’t be able to work for some time.
“We want to reinforce the floor, fix the leaks, the heating and cooling and plumbing, anything that needs to be fixed.”
McGee said she hopes to raise at least $5,000 for her brother, saying he could use any money left after repairing the mobile home to help him as he recuperates.
The GoFundMe page is called “Help us make his home safe” and as of March 25, $1,405 had been raised.
“We set it up about 10 days ago,” she said. “I’m happy about (the progress of the fundraising).”
She said her brother is a fighter.
“He’s a warrior,” she said. “He’s our warrior.”
The accident in Kuwait happened when the military vehicle Penny, Johnson and Bolinski were riding in collided with a civilian commercial truck in northern Kuwait, the Army reported.
All three soldiers were assigned to the 657th Transportation Detachment, U.S. Army Reserve, based in Mount Vernon, Ill., and were stationed at Camp Arifjan as part of Operation Spartan Shield.
For more information about the fundraising for Penny, send emails to McGee at veryspunky1@yahoo.com.