Nov 9, 2012 4 min read

Marines pride themselves on never leaving a comrade behind. So when Chris Thompson found out that fellow Marine veteran James Kushto was in need of help, he leaped into action.

“Former Marines tend to gravitate like magnets,” Thompson said. “I’m always trying to help a fellow Marine. When I found out he needed help, I committed myself.”

Kushto, 36, served in the Marine Corps for 10 years, including tours in 2005 in Iraq and in 2009 in Afghanistan, where he suffered brain injuries. After being honorably discharged, he had to find his own housing for the first time in more than a decade.

“When you get discharged, it all happens very quickly,” Kushto said. “We’d been used to living on military bases, and all of a sudden I had to find somewhere for my family to live.”

Kushto was in the process of moving his family – wife Brandy Kushto and children Ashley and Ciara Baird – into a two-bedroom apartment near the base in North Carolina when a fire further complicated matters.

“We lost everything,” Kushto said. “We dropped everything and were living in a hotel.”

Following the fire, the Kushtos decided in February to move back to Western Pennsylvania.

“I’m from the area,” Kushto said. “My dad is buried here. Even though I don’t have any family living here anymore, this is where I belong.”

The Kushtos were living in an apartment in the Mon Valley when the opportunity to invest in a home in Donora presented itself. They jumped at the chance, but soon found out the building needed quite a bit of work. The family soon got into financial trouble paying both rent and mortgage.

That’s where Thompson, 24, of Monongahela, jumped into the picture. Thompson served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before being discharged several years ago and starting classes at California University of Pennsylvania.

“We didn’t even know this kid a few months ago,” Brandy Kushto said. “I met him one day after class, and as soon as he found out my husband was a Marine, I don’t think we could’ve stopped him from helping.” The Kushtos also are students at Cal U.

The circa-1910 house was a fixer-upper, to say the least, and extensive renovations were needed. Rubbish and debris were piled chest-high in the basement. Ceilings and walls were crumbling. The bathroom was in disarray.

The Kushtos said Thompson’s efforts at both organizing and in construction operations were monumental. Soon, students from all over Cal U. started volunteering. The Fiji fraternity pitched in an afternoon of work. Neighbors from Donora began to come, and an active service member, who is director of the Washington County Leaders Program, got his young participants involved. Lowe’s Home Improvement Center in Belle Vernon offered to give the family discounted materials.

The Kushtos said Thompson has been responsible for it all.

“I’ve never really had any experience organizing,” Thompson said. “I basically went about it any way I could. It’s a very personal thing for me, and I take a great sense of accomplishment helping out James.

“Anything I can do to help him knowing the fact I was able to do something for a fellow Marine helps me out tremendously and makes me feel great.”

Pete Carter, a student at Cal U., said he originally planned on working only an afternoon or two, but he has become one of the hardest-working volunteers on the site.

“It started as a way to help out Chris,” Carter said. “But once I found out the story behind what we’re doing, that’s what keeps me coming back.”

The volunteers said they still had a lot of work to do. They were in need of an electrician to move a circuit box in the basement and were looking for a used refrigerator.

But the Kushtos couldn’t be more appreciative of all the hard work that has already been done on their behalf.

“All the people who have come out to help us without even knowing us, they’re all a part of this house,” Brandy Kushto said. “They’ll always be a part of this house.”

To volunteer time, materials or expertise to the Kushtos, contact kus8991@calu.edu or tho8616@calu.edu.