DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) – Crews from Tundraland worked hard Thursday afternoon, revamping the bathrooms in Mark Kralovec’s De Pere home. The construction is the latest Baths for the Brave project.
Baths for the Brave program provides bathroom upgrades like showers and bathtubs to deserving veterans.
“I served six years in the United States Navy,” Kralovec said. “I was part of their Nuclear Propulsion program.”
Since those six years of service, Kralovec says he’s lived his life without much recognition for his service.
“You get out and get in working in the civilian world, you just kind of blend in,” he said, “and we’re all out there, and people a lot of times don’t even know that the person next to them is a veteran.”
He’s finally getting recognition in the form of two new bathrooms. “[It] feels good, to get recognized for serving,” Kralovec said.
His son, Alek says it feels good to see his father rewarded. “He deserves every bit of it,” Alek said. “He does a lot for us and it gets tough sometimes and it’s really awesome that he gets recognized.”
Kralovec has three sons and he’s raising them on his own.
“A few years ago I lost my wife to cancer, and so I’m a solo parent,” he said. “And it’s just been a real struggle to keep up with things. It’s a lot of extra stress, worrying about projects that just weren’t getting done.”
One of those projects: his home’s bathrooms.
Their story won over the folks at Tundraland. “And it just kind of hit at home for some of us,” Paul Lukowski, a representative for Tundraland said, “and the story touched our hearts, and we thought, if we’re going to help anybody out in the community, this is absolutely the right type of situation and family to come in and give the blessing of two new bathrooms for them.”
The team got to work at around 8 a.m. Thursday.
“They took out the old bath that was cracked and old, and are putting in a new bath and shower for me,” Kralovec said.
His three sons are also excited for the upgrades. “We all like to use different soaps, so there’s usually like seven different soaps strewn around,” Alek said.
The family was also surprised with a $5,000 check to put toward the boys’ futures.
“For a scholarship fund or expenses, whatever you want to use to help your young boys in their futures,” Lukowski said while presenting the check. “So, just wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve done for our country, it’s the least we could do.”
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BATHS FOR THE BRAVE
