Montana Family Receives Mortgage Payoff in Honor of Fallen Soldier

On Memorial Day, Tunnel to Towers will once again help a Missoula family, as the organization will officially pay off the mortgage for the family of Army Sergeant First Class Travis Tikka in full.

On Thursday, I spoke with John Huvane, senior vice president of Tunnel to Towers, about the second Gold Star family to receive assistance after former Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Wade Palmer was gifted with a new home near Stevensville.

Tunnel to Towers is Paying off the Mortgage for the late Sergeant Travis Tikka

“On this Memorial Day, where we remember our lost service members, we're paying off 25 mortgages,” began Huvane. “Peter, you know how much mortgages are, and to pay off 25, it's wonderful that we have supporters around the country like yourself and your wife, who are there for us to be able to take care of Sarah and Travis's two children and pay off that mortgage.”

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Huvane explained how Travis Trikka died long after his military service ended.

“Unfortunately, you know, he came down with T cell lymphoma due to these burn pits,” he said.  “At a lot of these bases, they burn everything that's on the base. They don't have sanitation come and pick it up. They just burn everything. Those fumes are toxic, and we've had so many of our service members come down with rare diseases and cancers, and a lot of them have passed on.”

This is the Second Time in a Year Where Tunnel to Towers has been in Montana

Huvane said the Tunnel to Towers organization is proud to help a family like Sara Tikka's in Missoula.

“With Sara, it now gives her one less thing to worry about,” he said. “You know, when he passed in November 2023, the sergeant had given up his life, unbeknownst to him, while he was serving, that what he contracted in his time of service would eventually kill him, much like our response first responders from 911.”

Huvane said paying off the Tikka’s mortgage is just one of the tributes that Tunnel to Towers is paying to America’s heroes.

Huvane said Tunnel to Towers Plans to Help 60 Families in 2025

“We're going to do 60 of those this year,” he said. The catastrophically injured smart homes and rentals are built, and I'm sure Frank Silver (founder of Tunnel to Towers) will have us do more next year. But we've done hundreds of those types of homes.”

Sergeant Tikka served in the U.S. Army for 22 years and retired in 2006. According to a press release from Tunnel to Towers, he was described by his widow as ‘humble, kind, a great protector and an outstanding father. Although he loved the titles of soldier and husband, he was most proud of being a dad.’

As of Memorial Day, 2025, the Tikka family will have their home mortgage paid in full.