Wounded veteran speaks out after 2 teens charged with vandalizing his home

HANSON, Mass. — Two teenagers are charged with vandalizing a house in Hanson being built for a disabled veteran.

The home on State Street is for Paul Skarinka, a Whitman native, who served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army.

Eight months into his first tour of duty, Skarinka was critically injured when his unit came under enemy fire while on a mission in Sadr City, just outside of Baghdad, on September 13, 2004. He suffered a severed artery and serious damage to his left arm and leg in a rocket-propelled grenade explosion. He was transported from Iraq to Germany and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he underwent 22 surgeries. The rehabilitation process was long, painful and included amputation of his left leg below the knee and partial amputation of his left arm.

Jared Allen's Homes 4 Wounded Warriors, along with the New England Carpenters Training Fund and Commodore Builders, are funding the project.

The vandalism was reported Monday. Police said the teens destroyed all 24 windows, three doors and some installed lighting.

“Our house, we wanted a lot of windows because we wanted the natural light and where the house was, was so nice and it's a really nice lot on three acres,” Skarinka told Boston 25 News Wednesday night.

All of the windows were custom-made for the home.

“They were made for my house specifically,” Skarinka said. “They're not just your generic window you can get at Lowe's or Home Depot.”

Police estimate the damage to total more than $50,000.

“One or two windows, that's one thing, but you made an effort and pretty much went out of your way to break every single window that was in that house,” Skarinka said.

Neighbors reported seeing the teens in the area Saturday night. They were later identified after police canvassed the neighborhood for surveillance video from neighbors.

The teens were brought to the police station by their parents Monday night. Police said the parents have cooperated fully with their investigation.

“When they told me it was 16-year-old kids... at that age, if you're parents brought you up right, you should know from wrong from right,” Skarinka said. “I was brought up to respect someone else's property.”

Jared Allen's Homes 4 Wounded Warriors said the move-in date will now be pushed back by about five weeks.

“Without the windows, you can't really finish the siding, you can't really do the drywall in certain places, can't finish the electrical,” Skarinka said.

The organization is trying to allocate funds from other projects to get the home finished.

He was hoping he and his family could move into their home in time for Thanksgiving, but with a new batch of custom windows to be delivered and installed, they may not even be in time for Christmas.

Volunteers were back at the house on Thursday, cleaning up. Skarinka's anger has faded into forgiveness.

"Life's too short. I know that," he said.

The teens will be arraigned on vandalism charges in Plymouth Juvenile Court at a later date.

“Hopefully, the punishment fits the crime,” Skarinka said. “That's some malicious intent there if you want to break all the windows. You don't have respect for people's property.”

Skarinka praised Hanson Police for identifying the teens so quickly.

“This incident is disheartening,” Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch said. “When a Veteran and his family, who have sacrificed so much for our country, become the victim of a senseless crime it hurts us all. The parents of the two juveniles understand the pain this has caused and we appreciate their cooperation.”

Skarinka is currently a firefighter and paramedic in Plympton.

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Cox Media Group