Army veterans gifted mortgage-free home in East Tennessee

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to correctly spell the name of Staff Sergeant Jeremy Taylor’s wife.

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A couple who served in the U.S. Army have been gifted a mortgage-free home in East Tennessee.

The Freedom Alliance, US Bank, and HDI came together to provide Staff Sergeant Jeremy Taylor and Specialist Timea Taylor with the home.

“It’s just kind of disbelief that this is all kind of real and happening,” Taylor said. “They were able to put together a perfect house for me and my family.”

Freedom Alliance is a nonprofit organization that honors veterans across the country.

“He served almost eight years total and his injuries are the types that prevent him from holding a job and has to do a lot of rehab,” said Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilgannon.

The couple finding out they received a mortgage free home on a zoom call with US Bank.

“A lot of emotions and a lot of gratitude felt at that time,” Taylor said.

“I feel like a weight was lifted off of our shoulders,” Timea added. “It was just all the stress we’ve been feeling for a while now like, ‘where are we gonna live? Where are going to raise our child?’ just lifted. We slept so good that night.”

Kellen Bergman with US Bank believes a gift like this is important for those who sacrificed so much.

“It’s an honor to get to be a part of it,” Bergman said. “It’s truly incredible to see this family who has given so much and to get to be a part of a huge part of their life.”

As the Taylor look to make this house a home, they’re also excited to be involved in their community and meet their neighbors.

“We’re really excited to get part of a community, we’ve never been part of a community,” Timea said. “We’ve been moving from one place to another. we are ready to set our roots down.”

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