Tunnel to Towers pays off 30 mortgages for Gold Star families in 22 states

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off mortgages for 30 Gold Star families across 22 states on Veterans Day, part of its pledge to provide 343 mortgage-free homes this year.

One recipient is the Annapolis, Maryland, family of a Marine sniper who died in October 2025 from service-related melanoma after eight years with the disease.

Foundation chairman and CEO Frank Siller announced the payoffs Wednesday on Fox News' "Fox & Friends". "No. 1 is that we are paying off 30 mortgages to Gold Star families that lost their loved ones for our country," Siller said.

"Many of them are dying of burn pit cancers, just like many of our first responders are still dying from 9/11 illnesses. It's very sad," Siller said of the families' loved ones.

He said, "So, on a day like today, we want to make sure that America doesn't forget that there's a great sacrifice always being made for our country."

The 343 homes pay tribute to the 343 New York City Fire Department firefighters killed on Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks prompted the foundation's creation, and this year is their 25th anniversary.

"So, we made a promise this year for the 25th anniversary that we're going to deliver 343 mortgage-free homes this year, one for every firefighter who died on 9/11. That's almost a house a day," Siller said on "Fox & Friends."

To reach that goal, Siller said the foundation will provide the remaining homes, more than 60, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Families honored Wednesday included those of Army Lieutenant Colonel David Briseno of Grand Prairie, Texas, and Army Sergeant Brandon Minneman of Olympia, Washington. Navy Chief Petty Officer Ernest Lopez Jr.'s family, of Oakdale, California, was also among them.

In Annapolis, the Gold Star Family Home Program will pay the entire mortgage for the family of Marine Corps Master Sergeant Khanh Tuan "Shane" Nguyen. His wife, Anneli Nilsson, and their two children can remain in the home they shared with him.

"I started crying, and the immense sense of relief was immediate," Nilsson said.

"I couldn't believe it was true, and that complete strangers are so generous and willing to help," she said.

The payoff means "less worrying about paying the mortgage with only one income," Nilsson said. She said it also lets the family feel that her husband's sacrifice is honored.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam and grew up in Phoenix. He joined the Marine Corps while still in high school, then began boot camp after graduating in 1991. The decorated sniper served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He mentored younger Marines and was a U.S. Secret Service instructor until his death.

"This Veterans Day we honor his memory and his service, by standing with the family he left behind, and ensuring they will always have a place to call home," Siller said.

In Pennsylvania, the foundation said it opened Harrisburg Veterans Village on Veterans Day. Construction began in April 2025 at the former Phoenix Mill waterfront site along the Susquehanna River.

Siller said on "Fox & Friends" that many veterans have difficulty reintegrating after overseas service. "A lot of them have real problems doing that, and they end up on the streets. It's not acceptable," he said.

The foundation started its Homeless Veteran Program in 2022, aiming to eradicate homelessness among veterans. Siller said it has helped 27,500 homeless veterans leave the streets over the last three years.

The foundation says its program has given housing assistance and services to more than 20,000 veterans and 10,000 children since its launch. Its existing Veterans Villages are in Memphis, Houston, Atlanta and North Charleston, South Carolina.

Siller also discussed the upcoming Season of Hope initiative for firefighters' families on "Fox & Friends."