Van of Valor

How HomeFront SitRep Composed the Anthem for the Van of Valor

Commentary by Dr. Kevin Wallace
Van of Valor

NORTH PORT, Fla. – In March of this year, the nomadic headquarters of the Van of Valor was a camp ground on a military base in Fort Walton Beach. 

It was there, on a dodgy Starlink signal, that we sat down for an online podcast recording session with the HomeFront SitRep podcast.

 When Lauren and I appeared on HomeFront SitRep, hosted by David Willis, Samuel “Gunny” Deeds, and Candice “Candi” Snellen, we found more than just interviewers; we found kin. I already knew Deeds. The other two, I only knew by reputation.

The podcast, part of the Heroes Media Group, is a veteran-owned platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of veterans and the organizations that serve them.

“We’ve followed the Van of Valor’s journey from the start, sharing darn-near every story on our platforms,” said David Willis, a Marine Corps veteran and relentless community advocate. “Their mission resonates with everything we stand for — honoring service, remembering the fallen, and supporting living veterans. We wanted to give them something that captured the spirit of their incredible trek.”

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That “something” was the “Van of Valor Theme Song.”

Crafted by the HomeFront SitRep team, the song is an inspiration and patriotic, original, AI-created piece designed to serve as an audio banner for the Wallaces’ mission. It was presented as a surprise gift during their podcast recording.

“It was completely unexpected and deeply moving,” said Lauren Wallace. “To have fellow advocates, who have supported us so tirelessly, translate our journey into music… it’s an honor we carry with us every mile.”

The connection is deeply personal. Deeds, a medically retired Marine and Hall of Fame inductee for his veteran advocacy, is a close friend of Kevin and Lauren. His understanding of the wounds of war and the healing power of purpose infused the project with authentic empathy.

Deeds and I are featured side-by-side in the Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor, N.Y.

Snellen, a powerhouse advocate and founder of the nonprofit Up To Snuff, brought her lifelong passion for serving heroes to the collaboration. 

“The Wallaces are out there doing the hard, heartfelt work of preserving legacies,” Snellen said. “This song is our way of standing with them, of amplifying their message, and of saying ‘we hear you, we support you, and your mission matters.’”

The “Van of Valor Theme Song” now accompanies the project’s videos and online presence, a permanent and powerful reminder of the collaborative spirit that fuels the veteran support community. It stands as a testament to how mission-aligned organizations can lift each other up, creating something greater than the sum of its parts.

“HomeFront SitRep didn’t just give us a song,” reflected Dr. Wallace. “They gave us a heartbeat for our mission. David, Sam, and Candi embody the very ethos of service they podcast about. We are eternally grateful for their friendship, their continual support, and this incredible musical gift that will forever be the soundtrack of the Van of Valor.”

If you think about it, that song has been playing in 48 of America’s states and territories … so far!

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About HomeFront SitRep / Heroes Media Group: HomeFront SitRep is a veteran-owned podcast focused on spotlighting veteran service organizations, entrepreneurs, and inspiring stories from the military community. It is a production of the Heroes Media Group, dedicated to connecting, informing, and empowering the military, veteran, and first responder community.

About Van of Valor: Founded by Kevin and Lauren Wallace, the Van of Valor is a cross-country documentary project dedicated to interviewing and memorializing the nation’s combat-wounded veterans, POWs, and Gold Star families. Learn more and see the memorial wall at www.HelpVoV.com or follow @VanOfValor on social media.

The first leg of the Van of Valor mission is complete, and the team are now writing the stories of the 312 interviews conducted on a 27,100-mile mission. They also have 408 (and growing) names of the fallen written on the van, marking each fallen hero the team memorialized.

For 280 consecutive days, the husband-and-wife team of SMSgt (ret.) Dr. Kevin P. Wallace, a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor recipient, and Lauren W. Wallace, an anthropologist, traversed the contiguous United States. Their mission: to capture and share the stories of 312 Purple Heart recipients, former POWs, Gold Star families, and veterans. Through four major breakdowns and 64 days in rental cars, their resolve never wavered. The Van of Valor, and the online memorial at HelpVoV.com, became a rolling testament to the price of freedom.