Army veteran couple honored with new home on Veterans Day

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two veterans were honored Thursday with keys to a brand new mortgage-free home.

Sergeant Efferim Tillman and Specialist Jessica Poplin met in the Army and plan to get married in the near future. They’ll start their new life together with their daughter and son in a new Prior Lake home.

Pulte Homes’ Built to Honor program and the nonprofit Building Homes for Heroes teamed up to build and decorate the home for the Tillman family just in time for Veterans Day.

"We can’t express how grateful we are, so thank you all so much we already feel at home so thank you," Poplin said.

"I’m very humble, happy, surprised and I’m grateful," Tillman added.

Sergeant Efferim Tillman and Specialist Jessica Poplin with their daughter in the new Prior Lake home

Tillman was in the Army for 16 years before being medically discharged for injuries he sustained over the years.

"This home isn’t a gift or the result of the Tillman family winning a drawing or a sweepstakes. This home was earned through years of sacrifice and duty to our country," said Jamie Tharp, president of the Minnesota division of Pulte Homes.

Pulte’s Built to Honor program has donated 60 homes across the country, while their partner Building Homes for Heroes has been part of 300 homes given to veterans with the greatest need.