Van of Valor

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Authors Seek UK and European Partnerships for Powerful Memoir of Football, Service, and Belonging

FLORIDA, USA – June 11, 2026 – Dr. Kevin P. Wallace and L. Wright Wallace, the husband-and-wife team behind the acclaimed Van of Valor mission, today announced the release of their deeply personal memoir, RELEGATED: A Journey in Claret & Blue, in eBook format. The digital edition is now distributed through Ingram Content Group and available worldwide via Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Amazon.

Originally published in softcover in 2026, RELEGATED weaves together two seemingly distinct worlds: twenty years of U.S. Air Force service—including combat deployments to Afghanistan and a Purple Heart awarded after a shrapnel wound—and an unlikely, lifelong devotion to West Ham United, the working-class East London football club that became a lifeline across continents and crises.

The eBook release opens new avenues for readers across the UK and Europe, and the authors are actively seeking distribution partnerships, promotional collaborations, and retail relationships with bookshops, football supporters’ groups, veterans’ organizations, and independent publishers throughout the United Kingdom and European Union.

A Story for Football Fans, Veterans, and Anyone Who Has Ever Loved Something That Breaks Their Heart

From a dusty combat camera office in Afghanistan—where an 18-inch television broadcast West Ham’s 2011 relegation to a room of Italian Alpini soldiers—to a fan zone in Prague, where the couple celebrated the club’s 2023 Europa Conference League triumph amidst fireworks, chaos, and unexpected violence, RELEGATED is not a conventional football memoir.

It is, instead, a love letter to loyalty itself. The book explores:

• The bond between military service and football fandom as parallel acts of belonging
• The collapse of the authors’ community arts space (The Creative SPOT) and its “rage tent” for trauma processing
• The 27,106-mile Van of Valor road trip collecting stories of 317 Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families
• The quiet dignity of supporters like Paul Williams (Plaistow), who continues to watch matches while battling cancer
• The authors’ plea for partnerships across the UK to bring this story to new audiences

What Critics and Early Readers Are Saying

“A remarkable blend of military memoir and football confession. Wallace writes with the raw honesty of someone who has seen the worst of humanity and still chooses to sing.”

“This isn’t a book about winning. It’s a book about showing up. And that makes it essential reading for every fan who has ever stood in the rain and sung anyway.”

About the Authors

Dr. Kevin P. Wallace is a retired Senior Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force, a Purple Heart recipient, and a veteran of multiple combat deployments. He is the founder of the Van of Valor mission.

L. Wright Wallace is an anthropologist and historian completing her graduate degree at Harvard University. She is the author of A Wingman for Miss Universe (April 2026) and served as researcher and documentarian for the Van of Valor.

Together, they traveled 27,106 miles across the United States, collecting the stories of 317 wounded warriors and Gold Star family members.

Seeking UK and European Partnerships

The authors are immediately seeking:

• Bookshops and retailers interested in carrying RELEGATED (eBook and softcover)
• Football supporters’ clubs (West Ham branches and beyond) for author events, signings, and readings
• Veterans’ organizations and military charities for collaborative programming
• Podcast, radio, and press interviews across the UK and Europe
• Translation rights and distribution agreements with European publishers

Bulk order discounts and author appearances (virtual or in-person, travel permitting) are available.

Availability

RELEGATED: A Journey in Claret & Blue (eBook ISBN: 979-8-950350-13-9) is now available through:

• Barnes & Noble (ebooks.barnesandnoble.com)
• Books-A-Million (booksamillion.com)
• Amazon (amazon.com and international marketplaces)
• Distributed worldwide by Ingram Content Group

Softcover copies remain available via the same channels and direct from the publisher.

For partnership inquiries, review copies, or interview requests, please contact:

Dr. Kevin P. Wallace
[Email Address]
[Phone Number]
[Website / Social Media Handles]

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Note to Editors:

High-resolution author photos, cover images, and a selection of interior photographs (including the Detroit Hammers, the Prague fan zone, and images from Afghanistan) are available upon request. Excerpts for review are also available.

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