Staten Island, NY, May 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In observance of Memorial Day, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is providing twenty military families with mortgage-free homes, honoring those who sacrificed life and limb for our freedom.
The 20 homes are located in eleven states spanning the country:
- Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Peltzer - Nampa, ID
- Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jesse Anderson - Boise, ID
- Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 George Geoffrey Laubhan - Boise, ID
- Navy Chief Petty Officer Adam Foti - Moyock, NC
- Army Staff Sergeant Kyu Chay - Fayetteville, NC
- Army Staff Sergeant Jacob Hess - Fayetteville, NC
- Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Allgaier - Fayetteville, NC
- Army Sergeant 1st Class Shawn McCloskey - Fayetteville, NC
- Army Sergeant 1st Class Keith Callahan - Fayetteville, NC
- Air Force Reserve Master Sergeant Scott Blais - East Longmeadow, MA
- Army Sergeant 1st Class Matthew McClintock - Tacoma, WA
- Army Private First Class Buddy W. McLain - Peru, ME
- Marine Corps Sergeant Jose Luis “Joey” Saenz III - San Antonio, TX
- Army Staff Sergeant John Perry
- Army Private First Class Michael Pridham - Mount Washington, KY
- Army Specialist Jordan Schumann - Port St. Lucie, FL
- Navy Security Forces Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Oscar Temores - Hanford, CA
- Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ryan Michael Connolly Clarksville, TN
- Army Staff Sergeant Vincent Marketta
- Marine Corps Sergeant Aaron Alonso - Newton, NJ
During a private ceremony at the U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, five Gold Star families were presented with documents confirming that the mortgage held on their homes have been paid in full.
"It is because of Tunnel to Towers and everyone that has supported this foundation that I can happily say that the stress of providing a safe place to put my children to sleep each night has completely vanished," said Jessica Hess, who lost her husband Staff Sergeant Jacob Hess in 2019.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Allgaier’s helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan on May 30, 2007. He left behind his wife Jennifer Allgaier and their three daughters.
Thanks to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Jennifer now owns her home. “We don’t feel forgotten, we feel like somebody cares about us. It just opens up so many things for me that I didn’t think would be possible before,” Jennifer said.
In Idaho, Tunnel to Towers paid off the mortgages on the homes of three National Guardsmen who were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed southeast of Boise in February.
"After my husband’s untimely death, I worried that I would need to sell our family home or that I would have to work many hours to afford the mortgage, taking me away from our girls when they need me most,” said Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Peltzer’s wife Heidi Leben. She added, “Having our mortgage paid off by Tunnel To Towers has solved these concerns...It feels great to know that I can stay and raise my daughters in this home that my husband and I purchased together.”
The Tunnel to Towers Gold Star Family Home Program honors the legacy of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country by paying off the mortgage or providing the surviving spouses and young children with mortgage-free homes.
“Memorial Day is a day to acknowledge those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. This Memorial Day, when you are enjoying your day off, maybe seeing friends or family for the first time, I ask you to take a minute to think of those families who will never see their loved ones again. These heroes gave up their lives for our freedom and we will give the families they left behind a place where they can live free of the financial burden of a mortgage,” said Tunnel to Towers Chairman & CEO Frank Siller.
This year, as the Foundation marks the twentieth anniversary of the September 11th attacks and the Foundation’s inception, it has set an ambitious goal of delivering 120 mortgage-free homes by the end of the year.
Go to T2T.org to join us on our mission to support American heroes and their families by donating just $11 per month.
About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is dedicated to honoring the sacrifice of FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. For 20 years the Foundation has supported our nation’s first responders, veterans, and their families by providing these heroes and the families they leave behind with mortgage-free homes. For more about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its commitment to DO GOOD, please visit tunnel2towers.org.
Follow Tunnel to Towers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @Tunnel2Towers.
Attachments