Van of Valor
NORTH PORT, Fla. — After 280 days living on the road, Dr. Kevin Wallace and his wife Lauren Wallace are trading wheels for a forever home, a gift from Building Homes for Heroes.
The couple, co-founders of the Van of Valor mission, concluded a 27,106-mile journey across the contiguous United States on Dec. 18, 2025.
For nearly nine months, they lived and worked out of their van, conducting 312 interviews with Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families to preserve stories of service and sacrifice.
Now, thanks to the generosity of Building Homes for Heroes — a nonprofit dedicated to providing mortgage-free homes to wounded veterans and their families — the Wallaces will have a stable home base in North Port as they transition from cross-country travelers to authors and historians.
Dr. Kevin Wallace, a retired Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt), Purple Heart recipient, and Bronze Star with Valor recipient, understands the cost of service firsthand.
Lauren, an anthropologist, brought her training in preserving oral history to their shared mission. She also maintained a full-time course load as a History Graduate student.
Together, they turned their van into a mobile memorial, capturing the legacies and immortalized another 413 names of fallen heroes upon their van.
Yesterday they added the names of America’s three most recent soldiers killed-in-action.
SPC Sarah Beckstrom
SGT William N. Howard
SGT Edgar B. Torres-Tovar
“We’ve lived every mile of this journey — through breakdowns, interviews, and moments of profound connection,” said Dr. Wallace. “To now have a place to call home, thanks to Building Homes for Heroes, means we can focus on turning these stories into a lasting tribute for our nation.”
Lauren added, “The van was our sanctuary on the road. Now, North Port will be our sanctuary off the road — a place to write, reflect, and continue honoring those who gave everything. We promised to produce a book before A250, and we will!”
Building Homes for Heroes presented the home to the Wallaces as part of its ongoing mission to support veterans’ reintegration into civilian life. The gift ensures the couple can compile their hundreds of hours of interviews into a book ahead of America’s 250th birthday, while also establishing a local exhibit space for the Van of Valor.
Dr. Wallace and Lauren have dedicated themselves to healing our nation through storytelling.Now being provided a home, their mission can continue to grow.
The Van of Valor itself will be retired in North Port and converted into a free, walk-through museum, allowing the community to engage with the stories collected during the historic journey.
Though the van’s engine is now quiet, the Wallaces’ mission is just entering its next chapter — with a new foundation, both literal and figurative, from which to serve.
To learn more about Building Homes for Heroes, visit https://buildinghomesforheroes.org/
To follow the Van of Valor project, visit HelpVoV.com
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