CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Serving in the military takes hard-work, dedication and sacrifice. Each year, service members in the United States require almost 5 million medical visits costing billions of dollars in training days and leaving many with long recoveries or gravely injured, the Defense Health Agency reports.
One of those longtime service members hurt in action lives in North Carolina, and is now paying it forward after receiving some unexpected help.
United States Navy Reserve Master Chief Roger Dasilva has been serving the country for two decades, and is used to training or deploying on dangerous special missions overseas.
But on the day Spectrum News 1 met with him, it was the construction of newborn baby cribs that was occupying his attention.
“The hardest part is putting it together,” Dasilva said while opening the pieces to assemble a brand new crib.
“I think back to my kids, you know, building their crib and you know how important this is to just having that stability in your own home,” he added.
But Dasilva’s own stability was rocked last September when after 13 deployments and 21 years of intense service, the Naval Special Warfare Boat Operator was seriously injured, completely severing his quad muscle in his leg.
Forced to undergo surgery, Dasilva was left with limited mobility and having to undergo rehab each weekday for six months, far from his North Carolina home all the way in Virginia. That safe and accessible home away from home is provided by the Military Warriors Support Foundation.
“I needed a facility that had [handicapped] bathrooms. And they happen to have a home that had that, and they provided that for me while I’m down there doing my rehab,” Dasilva said of the nonprofit, that has been helping house Dasilva through his medical journey.
“If I didn’t, for instance, have the Warrior Foundation to support me there, I would be in a hotel, a very small room, for a long, extended period of time. My family wouldn’t necessarily be able to be there to support me during my rehab, post-surgery,” Dasilva added.
He joined a number of volunteers, including athletes from UNC, and nonprofits like the Military Warrior Support Foundation and the Green Chair Project. He spent his time helping build cribs and making care packages for veterans, service members and new mothers fighting addiction and trying to get back on their feet.
“Service is not just in the sense of being in the military, but also supporting your community. What better way of doing it than right here,” Dasilva said while assembling a crib at the event in Chapel Hill.
“Just knowing that if something were to happen, there’s an organization out there that we can reach out to and get support, that’s being supported by the community is great,” Dasilva said. “Just knowing that if something were to happen, there’s an organization out there that we can reach out to and get support, that’s being supported by the community is great,” Dasilva said.
Support Dasilva hopes to continue offering others during their time of need.
“There will be a happy mom that will be able to rest their baby on a changing table and be able to provide for her family and yeah, this is great. This has been a great experience,” Dasilva said between smiles.
And as if Dasilva’s heroic service and sacrifice for our country isn’t enough, his only two adult children are now also serving in the military.
Following in their father’s footsteps, Dasilva’s 20-year-old son is an active duty Navy intelligence officer, while his 17-year-old daughter recently graduated from high school a year early and served her country in the U.S. Navy before heading off to college.
