Van of Valor

The number is stark: 101

CODY, WY – September 28, 2025 –  It’s a figure that, for most, appeared as a headline after October 2006—a statistic marking a tragic month in Iraq. 

For 101 families, the month was life altering.

“For the world, it was a tally. For us, it was a tombstone laid over a part of our own souls,” said Dr. Kevin P. Wallace, Van of Valor cofounder and Purple Heart recipient. “These 101 are not a number. They are an echo of laughter we’ll never hear, a future of weddings and grandchildren that will never be. They are the silence that screams at us in the night, demanding that we do more than just remember.”

That demand is the genesis of the Van of Valor. For Dr. Wallace and his wife, Lauren, a call to action shattered their former lives, and put them on this course.

“We looked at the path we were on—the degrees, the careers, the security—and we realized we couldn’t build a comfortable life on a foundation of such profound loss,” said Lauren cofounder. “Honoring them became more important than any plan we had for ourselves. This van, this mission, it’s the promise we whisper to the fallen every single morning: ‘You are not forgotten. Not today. Not ever.’”

The couple sold their home, Lauren temporarily set aside her graduate studies at Harvard, and they moved into the Van itself, embarking on a perpetual pilgrimage, she said, adding, “Amazingly, along the way, I convinced Harvard to let me research this project as a Graduate thesis, so I am now back in school.”

“People ask me, ‘Why give up so much?’” Dr. Wallace reflected, his voice softening. “I carry shrapnel in me from Afghanistan. But that physical weight is nothing compared to the moral weight of forgetting. This van is my answer to that weight. It’s my way of standing my watch all over again, this time for the families and the stories.”

The Van of Valor is a mobile memorial, designed to bridge the chasm between a sterile statistic and a living, breathing legacy. They travel the nation to find, honor, and listen.

“A number is distant,” Lauren explained. “But a name? A name has power. When we say a soldier’s name aloud in their hometown, when we show their photo to a child who’s only heard stories, we’re not just sharing history. We’re reintroducing a hero to their community. We are stitching their memory back into the fabric of America, one town square at a time.”

This work is a 24/7, all-consuming labor of love that will define a total of 730 days of their lives.

“There are no days off from grief, so there are no days off from gratitude,” Dr. Wallace said. “When I look at the list of 101, I don’t just see names. I see brothers and sisters. I see the empty seat at a dinner table I’ve never sat at. My bond with them is the fuel. Lauren’s heart is the compass.”

“This journey has hollowed us out and filled us up in equal measure,” Lauren added. “We have held the hands of mothers as they traced their son’s name on their personal memorial wall. We have wept with fathers. In their pain, we find our purpose. This is the most important work we will ever do.”

As you read the list of names below, they ask you to join them in their sacred pact.

“Do not just scan these names,” Dr. Wallace urges. “Pause. Speak them. Let them live in the air for a moment. Each one is a life offered, a family forever changed. They answered the call without hesitation. The least we can do is remember without fail.”

“They are not statistics,” Lauren concluded. “They are our nation’s heartbeat, paused forever in a moment of valor. Their mission is complete. Ours—to ensure that pause does not become silence—is just beginning.”

A Solemn Roll Call: U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq, October 2006:

This list is compiled from official casualty reports.

• Lance Cpl. Christopher B. Cosgrove III, USMC, 23, 01 October 2006
• Cpl. Aaron L. Seal, USMC, 23, 01 October 2006
• Cpl. Chase A. Haag, Army, 22, 01 October 2006
• Sgt. Mario Nelson, Army, 26, 01 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Joe A. Narvaez, Army, 25, 02 October 2006
• Pfc. Michael K. Oremus, Army, 21, 02 October 2006
• Pfc. Satieon V. Greenlee, Army, 24, 02 October 2006
• Sgt. Joseph W. Perry, Army, 23, 02 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. James D. Ellis, Army, 25, 02 October 2006
• Spc. Raymond S. Armijo, Army, 22, 02 October 2006
• Spc. Justin R. Jarrett, Army, 21, 02 October 2006
• Spc. Kristofer C. Walker, Army, 20, 02 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Jonathan Rojas, Army, 27, 03 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Daniel Isshak, Army, 25, 03 October 2006
• Pfc. Dean R. Bright, Army, 32, 04 October 2006
• Spc. Timothy R. Burke, Army, 24, 04 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Christopher O. Moudry, Army, 31, 04 October 2006
• Spc. George R. Obourn Jr., Army, 20, 04 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Edward M. Garvin, USMC, 19, 04 October 2006 
• Cpl. Benjamin S. Rosales, USMC, 20, 04 October 2006
• Cpl. Nicholas A. Arvanitis, Army, 22, 06 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. John E. Hale, USMC, 20, 06 October 2006
• Cpl. Bradford H. Payne, USMC, 24, 06 October 2006
• Sgt. Brandon S. Asbury, Army, 21, 07 October 2006
• Cpl. Carl W. Johnson II, Army, 21, 07 October 2006
• Sgt. Lawrence L. Parrish, Army, 36, 07 October 2006
• Spec. John E. Wood, Army, 37, 07 October 2006
• Petty Officer 3rd Class Roger A. Napper, USN, 20, 07 October 2006
• Spec. Timothy A. Fulkerson, Army, 20, 08 October 2006
• Pfc. Shane R. Austin, Army, 19, 08 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Derek W. Jones, USMC, 21, 08 October 2006 
• Lance Cpl. Jeremy S. Sandvick Monroe, USMC, 20, 08 October 2006
• Capt. Robert M. Secher, USMC, 33, 08 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Stephen F. Johnson, USMC, 20, 08 October 2006
• Sgt. Julian M. Arechaga, USMC, 23, 09 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Jon E. Bowman, USMC, 21, 09 October 2006
• Pfc. Shelby J. Feniello, USMC, 25, 09 October 2006
• Pfc. Phillip B. Williams, Army, 21, 09 October 2006
• Sgt. Nicholas R. Sowinski, Army, 25, 11 October 2006
• Capt. Shane T. Adcock, Army, 27, 11 October 2006
• Sgt. Justin T. Walsh, USMC, 24, 11 October 2006 
• Sgt. Gene A. Hawkins, Army, 24, 12 October 2006
• 2nd Lt. Johnny K. Craver, Army, 37, 13 October 2006
• Private 1st Class Thomas J. Hewett, Army, 22, 13 October 2006
• Pfc. Kenny F. Stanton Jr., Army, 20, 13 October 2006
• Sgt. Jonathan J. Simpson, USMC, 25, 14 October 2006
• 1st Sgt. Charles M. King, Army, 48, 14 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Joseph M. Kane, Army, 35, 14 October 2006
• Spc. Timothy J. Lauer, Army, 25, 14 October 2006
• Airman 1st Class Leebenard E. Chavis, USAF, 21, 14 October 2006
• Pfc. Keith J. Moore, Army, 28, 14 October 2006
• Sgt. Brock A. Babb, USMC, 40, 15 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Hines, USMC, 26, 15 October 2006
• 1st Lt. Joshua Deese, Army, 25, 15 October 2006
• Sgt. Jonathan E. Lootens, Army, 25, 15 October 2006
• Sgt. Lester D. Baroncini Jr., Army, 33, 15 October 2006
• Pfc. Stephen D. Bicknell, Army, 19, 15 October 2006
• 2nd Lt. Joshua L. Booth, USMC, 23, 17 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Garth D. Sizemore, Army, 31, 17 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Ryan E. Haupt, Army, 24, 17 October 2006
• Sgt. Norman R. Taylor III, Army, 21, 17 October 2006
• Pfc. Nathan J. Frigo, Army, 23, 17 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Ronald L. Paulsen, Army, 53, 17 October 2006
• Spc. Daniel W. Winegeart, Army, 23, 17 October 2006
• Spc. Jose R. Perez, Army, 21, 18 October 2006 
• Sgt. 1st Class Daniel A. Brozovich, Army, 42, 18 October 2006
• 2nd Lt. Christopher E. Loudon, Army, 23, 18 October 2006
• Cpl. David M. Unger, Army, 21, 18 October 2006
• Cpl. Russell G. Culbertson III, Army, 22, 18 October 2006
• Spc. Joseph C. Dumas Jr., Army, 25, 18 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Jesus M. Montalvo, Army, 46, 18 October 2006
• Pvt. Edwardo J. Lopez, USMC, 19, 19 October 2006
• Staff Sgt. Kevin M. Witte, Army, 27, 20 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Clifford R. Collinsworth, USMC, 20, 21 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Nathan R. Elrod, USMC, 20, 21 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Nicholas J. Manoukian, USMC, 22, 21 October 2006
• Cpl. Joshua C. Watkins, USMC, 25, 21 October 2006
• U/I
• Sgt. 1st Class Tony L. Knier, Army, 31, 21 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Eric W. Herzberg, USMC, 20, 21 October 2006
• Sgt. Willsun M. Mock, Army, 23, 22 October 2006
• Spc. Nicholas K. Rogers, Army, 27, 22 October 2006
• Maj. David G. Taylor, Army, 37, 22 October 2006
• Spc. Nathaniel A. Aguirre, Army, 21, 22 October 2006 
• Spc. Matthew W. Creed, Army, 23, 22 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Richard A. Buerstetta, USMC, 20, 23 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Tyler R. Overstreet, USMC, 22, 23 October 2006
• Seaman Charles O. Sare, USN, 23, 23 October 2006
• Spc. Carl A. Eason, Army, 29, 23 October 2006
• Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles V. Komppa, USN, 35, 25 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Jonathan B. Thornsberry, USMC, 22, 25 October 2006
• Sgt. Thomas M. Gilbert, USMC, 24, 25 October 2006
• Pfc. Daniel B. Chaires, USMC, 20, 25 October 2006
• Pfc. Donald S. Brown, USMC, 19, 25 October 2006
• Sgt. Luke J. Zimmerman, USMC, 24, 27 October 2006
• Lance Cpl. Troy D. Nealey, USMC, 24, 29 October 2006
• Sgt. Michael T. Seeley, Army, 27, 30 October 2006
• Sgt. Kenneth E. Bostic, Army, 21, 30 October 2006
• Pfc. Jason Franco, USMC, 18, 30 October 2006
• Sgt. Kraig D. Foyteck, Army, 26, 30 October 2006
• Sgt. Michael R. Weidemann, Army, 23, 31 October 2006

To learn more about the Van of Valor’s mission, to share a story, or to support our journey, please visit us at www.HelpVoV.com, or follow our journey on social media @VanofValor. Dr. Kevin P. Wallace and Lauren Wallace continue to travel the nation, honoring our fallen one story at a time.