Jacksonville family has mortgage paid off on national TV; Gold Star Family also honored
Jacksonville couple Mario and Amy Perez served a combined 19 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
On Thursday, one day after closing on their new home, the two got the surprise of a lifetime when they learned their mortgage had been paid in full on national television.
“We are still shocked,” said Mario, who served 13 years in the Marines, completing two tours to Iraq and Afghanistan prior to medically retiring as a staff sergeant. “It's such a blessing to be a part of this and to be blessed with this. We are still at a loss of words.”
Thinking they were shooting a marketing video for Veterans United Home Loans, the Perezes had no idea what was about to happen – their mortgage was ripped up on live TV by a reporter from ABC’s Good Morning America, who shared the news that their house was paid in full by the lender.
“It’s still shocking,” said Amy, who served six years in the Marine Corps Reserves and is now the Community Development Coordinator in Jacksonville for Remember Everyone Deployed (R.E.D.), a nonprofit supporting military communities.
Along with being a husband and father of two, Mario is a full-time student who also works and helps his wife with R.E.D.
Related: R.E.D. driven by passion to support military community
“We have so many people to thank and so many people that have been there through our entire lives,” Mario said. “We appreciate everyone that we’ve met, everyone that we’ve encountered in our lives and everyone that we are going to encounter, and I hope that we’ve made a positive impact in their lives.”
The couple plans on using the gift as a way to continue to give back.
“This is our opportunity to pay it forward to those people that do need help,” Mario said. “We enjoy giving back and giving to the community already, and I think this is just something that is going to enhance that.”
Mario and Amy are looking into ways to make a difference with the funds that would have gone to their mortgage.
Veterans United Home Loans has given 10 homes to veterans this Veterans Day and will be giving away an 11th home as part of their #ThankstoVeterans sweepstakes, which runs through December.
More: 13 U.S. service members killed in Kabul to be honored in Jacksonville
Gold Star Family also honored
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation also announced on Veterans Day that it paid the mortgage of a local Gold Star Family.
The organization covered the mortgage for the family of fallen Marine Corps Staff Sgt. William (Billy) Joseph Kundrat of Holly Ridge, who was one of 15 Marines who died along with a Navy corpsman after a C-130 aircraft crashed in Mississippi on July 10, 2017, while en route to his 10th deployment. He was 33 years old.
Kundrat, a critical skills operator with 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, had served for more than 15 years. He is survived by his wife, Ashley, and two children.
As part of its Veterans Day initiative, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation has paid the mortgages of 35 Gold Star Families across the country, including seven North Carolina families.
Reporter Calvin Shomaker can be reached at cshomaker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Jacksonville family has mortgage paid off on ABC's Good Morning America
