Van of Valor

(Verse 1)

Out on the windswept prairie, where the eagle learns to fly

There’s a quiet place of honor ‘neath the wide and open sky

We came looking for a living soul, a brother’s urgent plea

But the ancestors were whispering of one we’d never see

(Chorus)

Rise up, rise up, Major Basil Heth Junior

Your spirit soars above the sacred land

Through the fire and the thunder, you carry out your duty

Now the drum beats slow, we finally understand

(Verse 2)

A thousand missions in the sky, the helicopter’s roar

Shot down twice but still you rose to fight that foreign war

The Yankton son who flew with grace, who wore the eagle’s wings

Then came home to silence, to the simpler things

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

They say a warrior walks in two worlds

Between the earth and sky

And when your final flight was called

You taught us how to fly

(Verse 3)

Three days we walked among your people, heard your name on the wind

A humble hero laid to rest where the buffalo once roamed

A moment’s silence, a veteran’s hand, a salute to the brave

The forgotten are remembered now, beside your sacred grave

(Final Chorus)

Rise up, rise up, Major Basil Heth Junior

Your spirit soars above the sacred land

Through the fire and the thunder, you carry out your duty

Now the drum beats slow, we finally understand

(Outro)

Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ

All my relations, all my relations

Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ

We remember you today