By Kelsey Trumbull
Feb 3, 2020LINTHICUM, MD, February 3, 2020— NFM Lending is pleased to honor Sergeant Eric Houck as the NFM Salute for February 2020.
Houck joined the U.S. Army in May of 2013. He was stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky until he was deployed to Peka Valley, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan as a forward observer in the 101st Airborne Division. On June 10, 2017, Houck and two other soldiers were attacked and killed by an Afghan soldier. Houck had just two months left before returning home. He was only 25 years old.
Houck graduated from Perry Hall High School where he met his wife, Samantha, when he was 15. They had two children: “EJ” and Violet.
Discussing why Eric chose to join the army, his father, Mike, stated, “He could probably have achieved anything he wanted to, but he felt this was his way to take care of his family.”
Houck posthumously earned the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge and Army Commendation Medal with a second oak leaf cluster for his end-of-tour awards.
Houck’s mother, Lisa, touched on the impact of losing her son and becoming a Gold Star parent.
“Sometimes I honestly still feel like we are alone, but when people like you and your organization decide to honor Eric, that makes me feel like we’re not alone. I don’t want to say that it’s upsetting, but people can just go through their normal day. It’s hard to go through our normal day because it’s a loss, it’s a heartache that will never heal. You try to find things that make you happy and it’s really hard to because you’re just missing such a love that was a part of you. It will never heal…but Eric’s alive in us, because we have him in our heart.”
NFM Salute is an initiative in which one military member or Veteran is chosen each month to be honored as the “Salute of the Month.” Salutes are chosen from nominations on the NFM Salute website, www.nfmsalute.com. The “Salute of the Month” will be featured on the website with a biography and information about his or her service, and NFM Lending will donate to a military or Veteran non-profit in the Salute’s name.
NFM Lending is proud to donate $2,500 to The Gary Sinise Foundation on behalf of Eric and the Houck family. NFM looks forward to the opportunity to continue to honor military and Veterans through the NFM Salute initiative.
About NFM Lending
NFM Lending is a mortgage lending company currently licensed in 39 states in the U.S. The company was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1998. They attribute their success in the mortgage industry to their steadfast commitment to customers and the community. NFM Lending has firmly planted itself in the home loan marketplace as “America’s Common Sense Residential Mortgage Lender.™” For more information about NFM Lending, visit www.nfmlending.com, like our Facebook page, or follow us on Instagram.
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