Greensboro veteran gets donated roof after community groups step in

A full roof replacement can be one of the biggest hits to a homeowner’s budget, and Greensboro veteran Grady Bendal did not have to carry that burden alone after Skyline Exterior Group donated the work to his house.

Bendal is a single father raising two daughters, Jaiden and Madison, and he lost his leg after an improvised explosive device struck his truck in Afghanistan. Veterans Bridge Home helped connect Bendal with the roofing company, bringing together a veteran-support group and a local contractor in a way that gave the family more than a new roof. It gave them one less major repair to worry about.

His story carries the weight of a long recovery. Homes For Our Troops says Bendal joined the military in 2009 and was wounded on Oct. 13, 2009, when his truck hit an IED in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. The blast caused right-leg damage, nerve damage and a traumatic brain injury. After years of limb salvage efforts, he later had his right leg amputated below the knee. He now homeschools his daughters.

The donation also points to a broader housing pressure that reaches far beyond one Greensboro address. Veterans Bridge Home says its Triad region spans 12 counties, including Guilford County, and that the region was home to about 92,407 veterans as of 2022. For families already balancing disability, parenting and daily expenses, an expensive roof leak or structural problem can quickly become a stability issue, not just a maintenance problem.

Skyline Exterior Group founder and CEO Brian Rice said the project was his way of paying it forward after receiving help with a VA disability update. The gesture echoed another local example from 2022, when FOX8 reported that Skywalker Roofing, Owens Corning Roof Deployment and Purple Heart Homes provided a free roof to Greensboro veteran Dennis Williams. That effort was part of a larger Roof Deployment project that began in 2016 and had helped more than 300 military members receive new roofs.

For Bendal, the work meant a stronger home and a little less strain on a household already shaped by service, injury and single parenthood. For Guilford County, it showed how local nonprofits and contractors can step into a gap that many families face quietly, one expensive repair at a time.