On a brisk fall morning, in a suburb of St. Louis, U.S. Veterans were honored in a very special way.

More than 175 volunteers, many of them from Boeing Defense Space & Security (BDS), converged on a small apartment complex that had fallen in disrepair. The complex is home to more than 30 U.S. Veterans and the volunteers were there to rebuild not only cracking sidewalks but the spirit of many of the veterans.

The apartments are run by U.S.VETS, an organization that provides affordable housing to veterans nationwide who are homeless.

Michael Nunn, a U.S. Army veteran who was injured while serving in the U.S. Army reserves says he doesn’t know what he would have done if it hadn’t been for U.S. VETS and the apartment complex.

“I was living in my truck and had no money- now I live in this beautiful complex, I’m going to school. It’s hard, but I’ll make it now.

Many BDS employees are veterans and for Veterans Day 2014, this project was the perfect way for Boeing and its employees to give back and say thanks to veterans both past and present.