Photo by Beth WadePhoto by Beth WadePhoto by Beth WadePhoto by Beth Wade

Retired Army Sgt. Christopher Powell was one of many gathered Nov. 11 to help celebrated Veterans Day at the annual ceremony in Sun City; however, he did not know he was going to be a part of the event.

Powell was given a new mortgage-free home through PulteGroups Build to Honor program with nonprofit Operation Finally Home. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home will be built in the Woodland Hills neighborhood in East Austin.

The stress [of finding housing] goes away now, Powell said after the ceremony. Now I get the freedom to focus on what I like doing. Now I get to have a home to come back to. Im building a future here.

Powell was injured in Iraq in July 2011 when he stepped on an IED. Heis applying to The University of Texas at Austin graduate school to study psychology.

Along with swimming two miles a day, Powell said he likes to go skydiving and scuba diving when he can.

[What happened to me] was not the end, he said. It was the beginning of something different. To me its just a change in lifenot an end.

The ceremony also honored retired Army Col. Don Lee Hayes Sr. with the dedication of a tree and plaque behind the wall at the Georgetown-Williamson County Veterans Memorial Plaza in Sun City.

During the ceremony two wreathes were placed in honor of all service members and the 175 service members from Williamson County who have died in combat.

Members of the Georgetown High School band, orchestra and choir provided music for the event, and Army Lt. Gen. Sean B. MacFarland, commanding general of Third Corps and Fort Hood, spoke.