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Family of fallen soldier extra thankful this year
Andersonfirstlook
Lily Grace Anderson and her mother, Caitlin get a first look at their new home after Monday’s ceremony and ribbon cutting. Along with a new home, there were a few surprises inside the home including appliances, a sofa and table along with a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with a special ornament with a photo of Lily Grace and her late father. - photo by Angie Meadows

This Thanksgiving, three Gold Star families will have something very special to be thankful for – a new place to call home.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named after an FDNY firefighter who laid down his life to save others on 9/11, is giving three mortgage-free homes, to three families, on each of the three days leading up to Thanksgiving.

On Monday, November 25, the first of three Thanksgiving Day homes was given to Caitlin Anderson and her daughter Lilly Grace in Smithville.

Caitlin lost her husband, Army Private First Class Billy Anderson, on May 17, 2010. He deployed just weeks after the birth of his daughter, Lilly Grace, and was just weeks away from coming home when he was killed by an IED.

PFC Anderson was just 20 years old, and his daughter, Lilly Grace, was just eight months old, when he lost his life.

In less than a year, Caitlin went from being a newlywed and new mother to a widow and a single parent.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is proud to give Caitlin the stability and financial security of a new mortgage-free home, where her family can celebrate the holidays this year and every year to come.

Caitlin is looking forward to financial freedom, doing laundry in her own home and breaking in the oven by baking cookies. Lilly Grace is looking forward to swinging on the front porch and riding her bicycle around the cul-de-sac. Lily Grace cut the ribbon to their new home following the morning ceremony.

The Tunnel to Towers Gold Star Family Home Program honors the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. The Foundation provides mortgage-free homes to surviving families with young children. The Foundation has delivered or is in the planning stage of 30 Gold Star homes.