Van of Valor

CAMBRIDGE, MA – The American landscape rolls by the windshield of a specially converted van, its exterior adorned with a simple, powerful name: the “Van of Valor.” 

For its drivers, Dr. Kevin Wallace and his wife, Lauren Wallace, this vehicle is more than transportation; it is a mobile archive, a recording studio, and a vessel for a sacred national trust. 

Their mission: to crisscross the United States, ensuring that the sacrifices of Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families are not relegated to the footnotes of history.

This unique partnership is built on a foundation of personal sacrifice and academic pursuit. Kevin is a Purple Heart recipient, a man who bears the physical and emotional scars of service. His wife, Lauren, is a current graduate student in History at Harvard University, using her scholarly training to contextualize and preserve the very personal stories of service and loss they collect.

Their project, the Van of Valor mission, represents a fusion of lived experience and historical methodology. “We are on a quest to keep the legacy of the brave alive,” Kevin explains, his voice steady with conviction. “These aren’t just stories; they are the flesh and blood of our nation’s history. As a recipient of the Purple Heart, I feel a profound responsibility to my brothers and sisters in arms to ensure their sacrifices are never forgotten.”

Lauren, translating the raw emotion of these encounters into a lasting historical record, sees the mission as public history in its purest form. “In the hallowed halls of academia, we often study the grand strategies and political decisions of war,” she notes. “But the Van of Valor is about capturing the ground truth—the experiences of the individual soldier, the family that mourns a fallen hero. This is history from the ground up, and it is essential for a complete understanding of the cost of freedom.”

A MORTAR, A TRUCK, AND A LASTING BOND: THE STORY OF CW3 NATHANIEL LOOMIS

Recently, the Van of Valor’s breakdown in Billings, Montana, has led them to continue their journey in a rental car, thus drastically eclipsing their field time. And in Idaho, they intended to sit down with a soldier whose service epitomizes the dedication and sacrifice they seek to document: Chief Warrant Officer 3 Nathaniel Loomis of the Idaho Army National Guard. Under the circumstances, their online correspondence has enabled this story.

CW3 Loomis, who also represented Idaho as an honoree in the 2023 Purple Heart Patriot Project Mission, has a service record that spans decades. He enlisted in the Idaho Army National Guard in 1998 and later attended the United States Military Academy. His path led him to a commission as a Warrant Officer in 2016, and he continues to serve today with B Company, 145th BSB, 116th CBCT.

But it was during Operation Iraqi Freedom III, in the harsh April of 2005, that Loomis’s life was irrevocably marked. As he worked inside the cavernous interior of a 5-ton truck, the tell-tale sound of an incoming mortar attack shattered the calm.

“In that moment, your training takes over, but the world slows down,” Loomis recounted. “There was no time to react. An 85mm mortar round struck the top of our truck and detonated.”

The force of the explosion blew a hole through the vehicle’s armored roof, turning the cabin into a storm of shrapnel. For his wounds received in that attack, Loomis was awarded the Purple Heart—a medal that signifies a soldier’s blood shed in combat.

“Receiving the Purple Heart is a moment of profound contradiction,” Loomis said. “It is an honor, yes, but it’s an honor you wish you never had to earn. It represents a day you survived when others might not have. It’s a bond you share with every other recipient, a silent understanding of the price paid.”

Loomis’s sacrifice did not end with that single attack. His dedication to duty saw him deploy again during Operation New Dawn (2010-2011) and later for Operation Spartan Shield (2021-2022). His chest bears not only the Purple Heart but also the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal with two stars, each one a chapter in a long story of service.

Loomis is one of many stories the Wallaces have conducted. Each story, from a Purple Heart recipient or a Gold Star family, is a piece of a larger puzzle—a mosaic of national service and sacrifice. The Van of Valor continues its journey, its mission fueled by a soldier’s respect and a historian’s resolve, proving that the most important stories aren’t always found in libraries, but on the open road, carried in the hearts of those who lived them.

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About the Van of Valor:

The Van of Valor is a mobile documentary project founded by Dr. Kevin Wallace, a Purple Heart recipient, and his wife, Lauren Wallace, a graduate history student at Harvard University. Their mission is to travel the United States in a converted van to collect, record, and share the stories of Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families. Through community engagement and archival preservation, they aim to honor veterans, immortalize the fallen, and educate the public, ensuring that the legacy of American heroes is never forgotten.