Tunnel to Towers Foundation Delivers 25 Mortgage-Free Homes to Gold Star Families

Celebrating the Service and Sacrifice of our Military Members this Veterans Day

New York, New York, Nov. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is honored to announce it has provided mortgage-free homes to 25 Gold Star Families in 16 states in observance of Veterans Day.

The Tunnel to Towers Gold Star Family Home Program honors the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country by providing a mortgage-free home to surviving spouses with young children. This Veterans Day, the Foundation is supporting the families of:

• Air Force Major Eric V. Spendlove
• Air Force First Lieutenant Felipe Alejandro "Alex" Sanchez
• Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Briana Singleton
• Army Staff Sergeant Lloyd Perryman Sr.
• Army Sergeant First Class Jamal Salaam
• Army Specialist Steven Waldron
• Army Sergeant John Brown Jr.
• Army Sergeant Jack Stillman
• Army Sergeant Major Michael Adams
• Army Sergeant Sean Ahern
• Army Captain Alan Elliott
• Army Private E-2 Thomas Brennan
• Army Sergeant Zachary Hisken
• Army Sergeant Douglas Bull
• Army Command Sergeant Major Steven Adams
• Army Sergeant Joshua Strickland
• Navy Petty Officer Third Class Eugene M. Hourican
• USMC Lieutenant Colonel Mario Carazo
• USMC Captain Miguel Nava
• USMC Major Tobin Lewis
• USMC Lance Corporal Michael Smith Jr.

13 of the Gold Star families receiving homes this holiday lost their loved ones to service-related illnesses, underscoring the continued risks our Veterans face even after leaving the service. 

U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Briana Singleton

U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Briana Singleton was commissioned into the Air Force in 2000. She dedicated over twenty years of her life to service. Her military career was honored with several awards, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. 

She met her husband, Joe, at a potluck event for Company Grade Officers (CGOs). The couple married and had two sons. On May 22, 2022, Lt. Col. Singleton passed away from a cancer diagnosis connected to her military service. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgage on the family’s Yorktown, Virginia home. 

“It is difficult to describe the sense of relief and gratitude I feel knowing that we have a stable home, free from the burden of a mortgage,” said Joe Singleton. “Being a Veteran myself, Veterans’ Day is already a special reminder of sacrifice and courage, but to see Briana’s legacy honored in this way will add another level to its meaning.”

U.S. Army Private E-2 Thomas Brennan

Army Private E-2 Thomas Brennan lost his life to Multiple Myeloma connected to his military service. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation fulfilled the mortgage on his family’s Sylvania, Ohio, home.

"Having this financial burden lifted is life-changing. To know I have this beautiful home where we raised our kids together, forever, is the greatest gift. Tunnel to Towers has given us time to breathe, heal, and figure out what life looks like without Tom," said Whitney Brennan. 

Private Brennan served two years, including deployment to Germany during the Gulf War, and was recognized with several honors, including the Army Achievement Medal, Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, and the Overseas Service Ribbon. He was honorably discharged from active duty because of a knee injury. 

U.S. Army Sergeant Sean Ahern

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgage on the home for the Gold Star family of Army Sergeant Sean Ahern, a beloved veteran and Endicott Police Officer from Skaneateles, New York.

SGT Ahern passed away on March 8, 2024, from a service-connected lung disease, leaving behind his wife, Lindsay Ahern, and their four children.

“Lifting this financial burden means my children and I get to keep our home. We can look at the corner where our Christmas tree usually is, and remember the holiday mornings we spent with Sean. We can sit down at our dinner table, where we all once sat as a family, and remember what it was like to share stories about our days with the man that we loved the most. We can see our memories in every hallway, every chair, every room, and now we will never have to say goodbye to the place where we made them,” said Lindsay Ahern. 

A Central New York native and lifelong public servant, SGT Ahern enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2000, inspired by the legacy of his father, a Vietnam veteran, and his grandfather, a Navy veteran. He served as an intelligence officer, deploying to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan. 

After leaving the military in 2005, Ahern continued his commitment to service as a police officer with the Endicott Police Department, where he served his community for nearly 20 years.

“Veterans Day is a time to honor those who selflessly served, knowing the risks they would face,” said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. “The loss of so many heroes to service-connected illnesses is a stark reminder that the risks our military members face continue long after their deployments end. We are proud to honor their legacy by ensuring these families will always have a place to call home free from the burden of a mortgage.”

Join the Tunnel to Towers Foundation on its mission to provide mortgage-free homes to Gold Star families across the country by donating just $11 per month at T2T.org.

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. Tunnel to Towers 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.

Attachments

• U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Briana Singleton
• U.S. Army Sergeant Sean Ahern

Trevor Tamsen
Tunnel To Towers Foundation 
718-987-1931
Trevor.Tamsen@T2T.org

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