$3 Million Proceeds From Betsy Ross T-shirt Will Build Homes for Families of Fallen Soldiers

$3 Million Proceeds From Betsy Ross T-shirt Will Build Homes for Families of Fallen Soldiers
Radio talk show celebrity Rush Limbaugh in a file photo. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Richard Szabo
7/31/2019
Updated:
7/31/2019

A radio talk show celebrity’s generosity will help provide shelter for the family of servicemen who died while serving their country, a New York not-for-profit announced on July 30.

Rush Limbaugh of the Rush Limbaugh Show is donating to Stephen Siller “Tunnel to Towers Foundation” an additional $2 million he raised through selling a limited edition Betsy Ross t-shirt through his online Rush Limbaugh Show store.

The money will lift the total funds raised by the broadcast celebrity to an impressive $3 million, allowing the charity to build four mortgage-free homes for Gold Star families. The foundation said the families had young children when their spouses died in the line of duty.

“Now, we have four great Americans that gave their lives for our country,” Limbaugh told the Fox & Friends television program according to a statement from the foundation. “We’re going to start building them houses and have them delivered by Christmas.”
The fallen servicemen include:
  • U.S. Army Private First Class Billy Anderson who died from an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in 2010
  • U.S. Army Sargent Aaron Joseph Blasjo who was killed on his third deployment when an IED struck his patrol
  • Marine Lance Corporal Ross Steven Carver who died in 2010 during combat operations in Afghanistan
  • Marine Lance Corporal Norberto Mendez-Hernandez who was killed on July 2011 during combat operations in Afghanistan.
The Gold Star Family Home Program honors the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the country.

“Through this program, the foundation provides mortgage-free homes to surviving families with young children,” the foundation said. “The Foundation has delivered or is in the planning stage of 30 Gold Star homes across the country.”

The $27 fundraiser t-shirt shows the historical Betsy Ross flag, decorated with 13 stars to represent the unity of 13 colonies back in the year 1876. Text underneath reads “Stand up for Betsy Ross.”

The Betsy Ross flag recently became shrouded in controversy when former National Football League player Colin Kaepernick complained to Nike about feeling offended by the older American flag being stitched onto the heel of its Air Max 1 Fourth of July trainers.

Nike responded by recalling the trainers, causing them to become a limited edition and resale prices to skyrocket. The controversy appears to gravitate around the flag coming from an era when slavery was widespread in North America.

Limbaugh revealed the widespread popularity of the Stand up for Betsy Ross t-shirt reflects growing discontent in mainstream America.

“People are tired of this guys, they are tired,” he told Fox & Friends. “They want a mechanism by way so they can push back.”

He does not believe there was any reason for Nike to remove the flag from its trainers.

“There is no reason to tear down our history and certainly there is no need to tear down Betsy Ross,” he said. “She is an American hero.”

The foundation recently thanked Limbaugh and his audience on social media for their generosity.

“A tremendous thank you to Rush Limbaugh and the Rush Limbaugh Show listeners for their support,” the Tunnel to Towers Foundation said on Facebook.
Richard Szabo is an award-winning journalist with more than 12 years' experience in news writing at mainstream and niche media organizations. He has a specialty in business, tourism, hospitality, and healthcare reporting.
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