Tunnel to Towers Frees Gold Star Family From Mortgage

Prince William County’s Fire & Rescue System Engine 23. [Courtesy of PWCFRS]

“When I heard the news, I started crying,” April Orel said in a statement. “My heart was flooded with gratitude. Thanks to Tunnel to Towers, I knew we were going to be able to keep the home Cory and I built together 20 years ago.”

“Cory knew from an early age that he wanted to protect and serve others,” April Orel said. “He chose the Marine Corps because he wanted to enlist ‘with the best.’”

Sgt. Cory Orel, a Marine Corps veteran who trained at the Rescue Fire Academy in Prince William County and later served with Prince William County Fire and Rescue, died in 2025 from service-connected cancer. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the family’s mortgage in Richlands, North Carolina, as part of its Gold Star Family Home Program.

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