Tunnel to Towers Foundation Commemorates Veterans Day With 30 Mortgage Payoffs and Grand Opening of Veterans Village

The Foundation fulfills its ongoing commitment to honor the lives of veterans and protect their families as they've protected us

Staten Island, NY, Nov. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In honor of Veterans Day, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation celebrates both the grand opening of the Harrisburg Veterans Village and the delivery of 30 mortgage-free homes to Gold Star families across the country.

Honoring our Nation's Veterans

This Veterans Day, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation honors our nation's greatest heroes by providing the families they left behind with peace of mind and stability in the form of a mortgage-free home. 

Representing nearly every branch of military service and spanning 22 states across the nation, 30 families received the news that they will always have a place to call home. 

In tribute to the 343 FDNY firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11, the Foundation has committed to delivering 343 mortgage-free homes this year to Gold Star families, fallen first responder families, and injured veterans and first responders in this 25^th anniversary year of September 11, 2001. The mortgage-free homes honor the legacy of heroes who lost their lives in combat, in the line of duty, or years later from service-related injuries and illnesses.

This Veterans Day, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgages for the families of: 

• Navy Chief Petty Officer Ernest Lopez Jr. - Oakdale, CA
• Air Force Master Sergeant Steven Fraas - Santa Barbara, CA
• Army Sergeant Brandon Minneman - Olympia, WA
• Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 William Dickinson - Leavenworth, KS
• Army Sergeant Matthew Gonzales - Lee's Summit, MO
• Army Specialist Eric Lee - Homer Glen, IL
• Army Specialist Chad Michael Bowles - Springtown, TX
• Army Lieutenant Colonel David Briseno - Grand Prairie, TX
• USMC Master Sergeant Khanh Tuan “Shane” Nguyen - Annapolis, MD
• Army Lieutenant Colonel Johanny Rodriguez - Staten Island, NY
• Army First Sergeant Christopher Jay Clark - Queensbury, NY
• Army Staff Sergeant Scott Aaron - Montgomery, TX
• Army Specialist Nicholas Michael Serra - Eastpointe, MI
• IL National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Moser - Fort Collins, CO
• Army Major Gary Hughes - Spring Hill, TN
• USMC Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Farrell - McDonough, GA
• USMC Sergeant Bradley Perkovich - Prattville, AL
• Navy Aviation Structural Mechanic Third Class Kenneth Finnell - Albuquerque, NM
• Army Specialist William Harley - Pleasant Hill, IA
• Navy Seaman Recruit Juan Fernandez - Chalmette, LA
• Navy Petty Officer Third Class Michael Wayne Pyle - Greenfield, IN
• Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Kedric Grover - Uxbridge, MA
• Army Specialist Joseph Rivera - Warminster, PA

The Gold Star Family Home Program provides mortgage-free homes to surviving spouses with young children after the loss of a service member or first responder who died in the line of duty or from a service-related illness. The program is designed to bring long-term stability and security to families coping with the sudden and tragic loss of a parent who served our country.

Grand Opening of Harrisburg Veterans Village

Continuing the ongoing mission to eradicate veteran homelessness, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation celebrated the grand opening of the Harrisburg Veterans Village in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on November 11. 

The Foundation broke ground on the waterfront property in April 2025 and has since converted the former Phoenix Mill site into a 61-unit apartment complex, complemented by 20 one-bedroom comfort homes to create a residential community for our nation's greatest heroes in their time of need. 

The Village will house more than 80 veterans in need of permanent housing and provide on-site supportive services, such as job training, benefits assistance, mental health support, and addiction treatment. 

Tunnel to Towers Foundation Homeless Veteran Program

In 2022, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation launched the Homeless Veteran Program to eradicate homelessness in the veteran community. Founded on the belief that no veteran should live on the streets of the country they helped to defend, the program provides a stable home and a wide range of needed services to diagnose and treat the root causes of veteran homelessness, addressing a veteran’s specific emotional, financial, and physical needs. 

Since the program's inception, the Foundation has provided housing assistance and services to more than 20,000 veterans and 10,000 children. 

The Harrisburg Veterans Village is the latest of several Veterans Villages to open its doors to veterans in need. Currently, the Foundation operates Villages in Memphis, Tennessee, North Charleston, South Carolina, Houston, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, while also supporting affiliate veteran housing programs in Riverside and West Los Angeles, California, and Austin, Texas. 

The final Veterans Village grand opening for 2026 will take place on December 9 in Denver, Colorado. Seven Veterans Villages are currently under construction and are expected to open their doors in 2027. 

For more information, visit T2T.org or support the Foundation’s mission by donating $11 a month.

About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation

Born from the tragedy of 9/11, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation carries out its mission to “do good” by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. Children of the Foundation’s home recipients are offered full scholarships for undergraduate degrees and accredited trade school programs, helping secure their futures. The Foundation is also committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and helping America Never Forget September 11, 2001.

Visit T2T.org to learn more, and follow Tunnel to Towers on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Press Team
Tunnel to Towers Foundation
718-987-1931
Press@T2T.org