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Hello everybody! I hope your Valentine’s Day was the best ever and that the love of your family and friends consumed you! I know I talk a lot about my Billy, but he is the one who consumed me … he is the Valentine that I wish every woman could experience and share life with. For all of you who have that special best friend, lover, supporter, inspiration and incredible other half – good for you! For those of you who haven’t been shown the love you deserve, I pray that you will. And ladies, remember that it shouldn’t be all up to our men folk to show the deep love we have for a relationship. Men deserve a single red rose, too … a heart shaped box of his fave candy or even just a simple handmade, handwritten card with your praise for his goodness, talents, help in the kitchen, garden chores, care of your pets and devotion to you and your precious children.

Lastly on this topic, hold them tight, kiss them often and celebrate that you still have them in your daily life. Us widows/widowers relive our memories over and over and over and thank the good Lord we have them to smile about and embrace.

In this New Year, I plan to ask personal input and stories from Dare County resident veterans and others beginning with this edition. The gentleman you are about to read has been a Dare County Veterans Advisory Council member since 2021 and he shared his story from the heart. I hope his contribution to today’s Gig Line will encourage you to tell your story to me as well so I can share it with other Gig Line readers. If you prefer to write your own story, that would be great, but if you prefer to convey it to me verbally, I will do my best to write it, read it back to you for your approval and include it in a future Gig Line. Every veteran has a story. You are important, you matter and so does the story you would like to tell. Contact me on my cell/text at 252-202-2058 – any time.

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A retired war hero’s family traded in the keys to their condo and old life in picturesque Manteo for the keys to an old FedEx fleet van with just over 300,000 miles on the odometer. Why would retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace and his newlywed wife Lauren ever want to do such a thing? I have seen photos of the van, and they clearly won’t be “glamping” – they don’t even have a bathroom and share a twin-sized cot. I’ll tell you why, in their own words:

“The idea for Van of Valor evolved over time. I spent a number of years deployed into some pretty cool environments with some stellar people; and I enjoyed darn near every minute of it,” said the retired combat cameraman, who is also a Bronze Star with Valor and Purple Heart recipient.

“Personally, I love folks from all walks of life and have friends everywhere, yet there’s certain things I only talk to other Veterans, other combat Veterans about sometimes. So, what if we introduce America to a whole array of Purple Heart recipients dating back to the Korean Conflict, or even World War II? And, what if we bring in Gold Star families too? I want to stress that when you get a bunch of wounded combat veterans from all the branches and communities, and across 50+ years of conflicts … magic happens. When you throw the grieving Gold Star children, wives, sometimes parents into the mix, you get true and genuine healing. Cries, laughs, hugs, the whole thing, Marsha.”

Lauren agreed.

“When I think of this journey together with Kevin, I think that he will move from combat to campgrounds,” she said. “I believe this is us giving all we can. This is our quest to keep the legacy of the brave alive.”

As the couple traverses the entire continental United States, they plan to honor the Purple Heart Trail, and to tell the story of at least 100 different Purple Heart recipients, either through first-hand anecdotes of surviving heroes, or through the stories of the families left behind. They also plan to visually document these heroic stories interwoven into a larger visual of Americana across the highways and byways along the mission. They have committed one year of each of their lives to the mission up front, and would consider a second, if that’s what it took to get the job done, said Lauren.

This isn’t the first Veteran project the couple worked on together. Kevin has been a member of the Dare County Veterans Advisory Council for nearly four years, and Lauren has earned the Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award for three consecutive years, so serving the public is very much in her blood too. What keeps them going?

“Well, I became hooked on that healing magic, so my wife and I began dreaming up ways we could help,” said Kevin. “Last year we brought a gigantic inflatable spray paint tent and a few hundred pounds of art supplies, and drove it all out to a Veteran event that was known to have dozens of Gold Star children in attendance.”

They brought tables, where they led mask-painting and other art projects, said Lauren.

“Then, during the evenings when everyone was sitting around the campfire, people could break away one at a time and come to the tent,” she continued. “They could Bluetooth into our speakers and play whatever music they wanted to vibe with as they made art, and they had that privacy to do it alone in the tent.”

They soon named this the “Rage Tent,” said Kevin, recalling when they recently brought the tent to a Purple Heart event near Dayton, Ohio.

“Let’s say the tent often turned into a rage tent with angry music, and lots and lots of paint throwing at the canvas, walls, everywhere,” said Kevin. “It was epic and really allowed some people to heal.”

Bringing art to wounded Soldiers and grieving families wasn’t the only awakening experience the couple had in Ohio. Lauren was moved by public support for the warfighter.

“One thing I noticed in the Dayton area was signage and photos of veterans lining the highways and such,” she said. “We didn’t have anything like that here on the Outer Banks. So, when we came home from Dayton this past August, I went and proclaimed Roanoke Island as America’s first Purple Heart Island to the Dare County Commissioners.”

Laughing, Lauren recalled, “Kevin didn’t even know I was doing it, at first. He wouldn’t like the recognition, but now he knows it’s not about him, it’s about taking any interest the public has, and being humbled by it, and then deflecting it onto other heroes, some of which are in really dark places still.”

Her proclamation was unanimously ratified. In fact, a permanent sign was erected in Manteo on Feb. 2, 2025, in front of the Veteran’s Memorial.

When asked if Lauren’s proclamation was a motivator for him, Kevin sternly said, “Gosh, yes! After she did that, we met a Manteo resident and Vietnam Purple Heart recipient named Tom Higgins, who had a heart attack merely three weeks prior. We realized we needed to get on the road and find these stories and capture them now. Mr. Higgins will be the first Hero featured in the Van of Valor book, due to be released on America’s 250th Birthday.”

“So, we bought an old FedEx fleet van with 300,000 miles on it and a plethora of problems, self-converted it and fitted it with a twin bed – which we’ll share for that year – and, a small work desk, a sitting area, and a kitty-litter toilet thing. Let’s just say, we are not glamping this year, we’re going to be living in a way we see as a sacrifice forward on our part for asking people to think about old, and maybe traumatic, memories for our book.”

When called a hero face-to-face, Kevin said, “Stop, I’m not comfortable with that.

“I’m never comfortable with it, it’s nothing personal,” he continued. “My job in the military was to tell the story of the warfighter, not the other way around. This is my wife and I’s quest to honor America’s bravest and their families. It’s an honor.”

The Van of Valor already has a running blog. To follow their progress around America or to assist, visit www.VanofValor.com, or www.facebook.com/VanOfValor, or follow them on Instagram or X. You can also contact them directly at Manteo.Creative.Spot@gmail.com.

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Until next time, be healthy, safe and happy. Celebrate our veterans like Kevin and the spouses who love and support them in all they do. For veteran help and guidance in seeking V.A. medical assistance, help in filing a disability claim or to acquire a duplicate DD-214 if your original has been displaced, please contact Dare County veteran service officer, Patty O’Sullivan: office 252-475-5604, cell/text: 252-473-7749 or email: Patricia.O’Sullivan@darenc.gov. Pray for our U.S. military active duty, reserve and veterans across our nation and world. God bless you all. I love you! Stay tuned!

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