Gene and Kathi Sandburg, parents of fallen Petty Officer Brendon Sandburg, received keys to their newly constructed home during a special home dedication ceremony Thursday, July 14, 2022.

Representatives from GL HOMES, St. Lucie County Veteran Services, Congressman Brian Mast’s office, Believe with Me Foundation and the City of Port St. Lucie welcomed Gene and Kathi to their new home with a payment-free, 25-year forgivable mortgage constructed by GL HOMES. The City donated the lot. The dedication featured the Navy Sea Cadets Color Guard, which presented the colors during the playing of the national anthem, and a ceremonial flag-raising conducted by Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 566, St. Lucie County. PSL’s Councilman David Pickett donated and delivered the flagpole and the American flag to the Sandburg family before the ceremony.

After the ceremony, surrounded by friends and family, the Sandburg family toured the 2,435-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-car garage home with a den decorated by the Believe with Me Foundation.

“We are honored to celebrate the dedication of a Gold Star home to the Sandburg family,” Councilman Pickett said. “As a veteran, my heart is overjoyed. To see people deserving as the Sandburgs makes this all worthwhile. The home represents more than just a structure. For the Sandburg family, it represents a new beginning.”

“Petty Officer Brendon Sandburg served our country with honor and distinction,” said Ryan Courson, GL Homes Division President of St. Lucie County. “GL Homes built this house as a labor of love for Brendon’s parents, Kathi and Gene Sandburg. We thank this Gold Star family for their service and our freedom. Through this home, Brendon will not be forgotten.”

“I’m overwhelmed and grateful for our new home. As I look at all of this, I know it’s because of Brendon,” Kathi Sandburg said. “We’ve always been proud of him, but I know he is behind this home. He is the reason this is happening. He’s our guardian angel.”

Petty Officer Sandburg, a Naval Hospital Corpsman, was assigned to Branch Medical Clinic in Yuma, Ariz., when he perished in a search and rescue helicopter training exercise Aug. 16, 2007. In recognition of his numerous military achievements, Petty Officer Sandburg was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal; the Navy Expeditionary Medal; the Combat Action Ribbon; the Army Achievement Medal; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Two Navy Good Conduct Medals; the National Defense Service Medal; three Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbons; and the Navy Expert Pistol and Expert Rifleman Medals.

The Sandburgs are the latest recipients of PSL Gold Star Family Home Giveaway. In 2021, the family of Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Allen Reinwasser was the first family to receive a payment-free, 25-year forgivable mortgage coordinated by the City of Port St. Lucie. Learn more about PSL’s Gold Star Family Home Giveaway at www.CityofPSL.com/Veterans.

About Believe with Me Foundation

Believe with Me Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to Bringing Hope and Help to America’s Gold Star Families. A Gold Star Family has lost a loved one in the service of our nation’s military. Believe with Me serves all manner of military death killed in action, killed in training, PTSD suicide and cancer-related deaths to exposures during military service.