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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The David Morgan house won&#8217;t be hard to find.</p><p>Just look for the plaque with his name to be attached to the gray house with white trim on the corner of Dodson Lane and Brown Street. There could be an American flag displayed there, too, when a veteran moves in next year.</p><p>The city worked in conjunction with the Volunteers of America to find a property for the agency&#8217;s Homeward Bound project to develop affordable housing for veterans and their families. Recognizing Morgan, 38, a GAR High School graduate and U.S. Navy veteran who died in 2013 from complications due to a traumatic brain injury suffered while serving in Kuwait in 2009, was Mayor Tom Leighton&#8217;s choice.</p><p>A bank that foreclosed on the Brown Street house donated it to the city which then donated it to the VOA.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t think for one second who I was going to name this for. I knew exactly who it was going to be for. It was going to be for David Morgan,&#8221; Leighton told a small crowd assembled on the sidewalk in front of the house for a noon-time ceremony Wednesday.</p><p>The two met while Morgan was undergoing rehabilitation at a local Department of Veterans Affairs facility in 2012. Leighton said the visit left an impression on him and he honored Morgan by naming him the grand marshal of the city&#8217;s 2013 St. Patrick&#8217;s Day Parade. The city&#8217;s police department also named Morgan, who was working as a military police officer, an honorary member.</p><p>&#8220;To this day, he&#8217;s still an honorary member of our police department, so richly deserved,&#8221; Leighton said.</p><p>Morgan&#8217;s parents, Peggy and Charlie, and family and friends attended the ceremony as did representatives from the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.</p><p>The Morgans said they were overwhelmed by the tribute to their late son.</p><p>&#8220;Knowing Dave, he&#8217;d be really honored to do this and me and his mother, we just can&#8217;t get over this. This is a great honor,&#8221; Charlie Morgan said.</p><p>&#8220;We just can&#8217;t say enough. We can&#8217;t thank you enough for all the gratitude that you&#8217;ve shown us,&#8221; Peggy Morgan said.</p><p>Barbara Banaszynski, president of Volunteers of America Pennsylvania, promised the Morgan family would be proud of the tribute.</p><p>&#8220;We intend to do this right. It&#8217;ll be a fitting memorial to your son and to your family and we hope you can come back when it&#8217;s finished and visit with us,&#8221; Banaszynski said.</p><p>The Morgan house is one of four planned for the city. Another house on Gregory Street is going to be occupied by a retired female veteran who&#8217;s the head of household and has two children.</p><p>The agency that began in 1869 has a legacy of helping veterans.</p><p>&#8220;Our first work with veterans recorded in our literature was with post-Civil war veterans and we have been serving veterans ever since in many capacities,&#8221; Banaszynski said.</p><p>The city reached out to the VOA to inquire about the Homeward Bound program after Leighton said he accepted the challenge of President Barack Obama earlier this year to end homelessness for veterans. Leighton said mayors across the country agreed to work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.</p><p>Banaszynski said the Brown Street property will be rented out at below market rates and the veteran tenant will have the opportunity to own it. &#8220;Hopefully, that would be something that could happen with all of our houses,&#8221; she said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton, right, applauds as Peggy Morgan, left, and her husband, Charlie, center, display the plaque with the name of their deceased son, U.S. Navy veteran David Morgan, that will be attached to a house on Brown Street to be rented and possibly owned by a veteran through the Volunteers of America Homeward Bound program. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121715homewardbound.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton, right, applauds as Peggy Morgan, left, and her husband, Charlie, center, display the plaque with the name of their deceased son, U.S. Navy veteran David Morgan, that will be attached to a house on Brown Street to be rented and possibly owned by a veteran through the Volunteers of America Homeward Bound program. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_David-Morgan.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Morgan </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_David-Morgan.jpg</photo1><caption1>Morgan </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Home for veterans named for deceased Wilkes-Barre veteran David Morgan