Tunnel to Towers Foundation pays mortgages for several N.C. Gold Star families

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WECT) - The Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced Thursday that it has paid, in-full, the mortgages on the homes of 35 Gold Star families, including two fallen soldiers from our area.

The families of U.S. Army Sergeant Roger Leeroy Adams Jr. (Wilmington, NC) and Marine Corps Staff Sergeant William (Billy) Joseph Kundrat (Holly Ridge, NC) were among those chosen by the foundation.

Adams, of the 120th Combined Arms Battalion, North Carolina National Guard of Jacksonville, N.C., was killed in the line of duty on June 29, 2009, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad.

Sgt. Adams, who had spent 13 years as an active duty Marine prior to enlisting in the N.C. Army National Guard in March 2006, served the country during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He is survived by his wife, Teresa, and his four children.

Kundrat died in the line of duty on July 10, 2017, when the C-130 aircraft he was on crashed in Lefbre County, Miss. He was en route to his 10th deployment during the time of the incident.

Kundrat joined the Marine Corps on July 30, 2002, and was promoted to staff sergeant on Jan. 1, 2011.

He is survived by his wife, Ashley, and his two children.

The families of the following North Carolina fallen service members also received this gift from the foundation:

• U.S. Army Specialist Steven Alexander Davis (Fayetteville, NC)
• U.S. Army Master Sergeant Nathan Lee Goodman (Holly Springs, NC)
• U.S. Army First Lieutenant Justin Shawnsonte Smith (Kenly, NC)
• U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Bradley Scott Bohle (Broadway, NC)
• N.C. Air National Guard Major Ryan Scott David (Blowing Rock, NC)

“This Veterans Day, we’re honoring the inspiring Americans who sprang into action to take the fight to our enemies and protect our homeland in the wake of September 11th. We’re eternally grateful to the fallen heroes of the Global War on Terror and their families who live every day with the reminder of the sacrifice of their loved one. As a small thank you to the Davis, Goodman, Smith, Bohle, Adams, Kundrat and David families, we’re paying off their mortgages, ensuring they’ll always have a place to call home,” said Tunnel to Towers CEO and Chairman Frank Siller.

The foundation’s Veterans Day name-reading ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., can be seen below.

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