Veteran Story: Bradford Ping

A New Roof, A Renewed Promise: Somerset Veteran Bradford Ping Receives Critical Home Repair

Bradford Ping answered his country's call in 1977, serving four years in the United States Army during the Cold War before returning home to build a life in Somerset, Kentucky. Decades later, that home was letting him down in the most literal sense: a leaking roof threatened the safety and comfort of Bradford and the four family members who share his household.

Thanks to a remarkable collaboration between Purple Heart Homes, Veterans Contracting LLC, and Owens Corning, that threat is gone.

A Roof Deployment Worth Celebrating

On March 24, 2026, Veterans Contracting LLC, an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred roofing contractor, arrived at the Ping home and completed a full roof replacement in a single day. The project was made possible through the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project, a nationwide initiative launched in 2016 to honor Veterans and the families who support them. To date, the program has provided new roofs for more than 775 military households across the country. The Owens Corning Foundation donated all roofing materials while Veterans Contracting LLC contributed their labor entirely free of charge.

For a household of five, a sound roof is not a luxury. It is the foundation of everything else. For Bradford, who lives with service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus, the peace of a safe, weathertight home matters all the more.

Service Honored with Service

Bradford Ping's Army years represent a generation of Veterans who served during the Cold War, a period of sustained readiness that demanded sacrifice even without the headlines of active combat. That quiet, steadfast service deserves to be met in kind.

Purple Heart Homes' Veterans Aging in Place program exists precisely for moments like this: to identify Veterans whose homes have become unsafe or inadequate, and to connect them with the partners and resources needed to make things right. In Bradford's case, that meant bringing together a nationally recognized manufacturer, a Veteran-owned contracting company, and a community committed to doing more than saying thank you.

Purple Heart Homes is grateful to Veterans Contracting LLC and Owens Corning for making this project possible, and proud to serve Veterans like Bradford Ping, who gave their years so other could live in safety and security.

Purple Heart Homes is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing housing solutions that improve quality of life for service-connected disabled Veterans and their families. Learn more at purplehearthomesusa.org.

For more information on the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project, visit owenscorning.com/roofdeployment.