CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — This year, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is set to ease on financial burden from a Clarksville family.
As part of its fifth annual Season of Hope, Tunnel to Towers (T2T) has pledged to pay off the mortgage of the home of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen Dwyer.
Dwyer was one of five special operations soldiers killed in a helicopter crash earlier this month. The crew's Blackhawk helicopter crashed while conducting aerial refueling training over the Mediterranean Sea. He is survived by his wife, Allie, and three sons.
Born from the tragedy of 9/11, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation pledges to "do good" in the world 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.
This year the foundation sought to deliver 40 mortgage-free homes to deserving recipients by Christmas Eve, bringing the yearly total of homes to 200 for 2023.
Dwyer came from a military family: both of his parents were graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and he followed in their footsteps and received his commission from the Academy in 2009. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Air Medal with Combat Device among many others during his career.
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T2T Chairman and CEO Frank Siller reportedly delivered the news to Dwyer's widow.
"As families eagerly anticipate celebrating the holiday season together, Allie and her boys must navigate a future without their beloved husband and father. I hope the promise that they can remain in the home they once shared will offer them some stability in this uncertain time," Siller said in a release.