Stories of Valor - Single

Roger traces the inspiration for this song to a picture he found on Facebook, of an old man in a wheelchair reaching out to the Wall at the Vietnam Memorial. He began to write what he imagined the man was saying to the brother whose name he saw on the Wall. He realized that the words he’d written reflected the story of two brothers who were childhood friends of his family.

At the time, the War was on everyone’s mind – and on the news shows every night. When the older Lewis brother was drafted, it brought the conflict nearer to all of them. Butch Lewis went to basic training and came back as an impressive soldier in his dress uniform. But, Butch was killed within a month of deployment, from “friendly fire.” As a 12-year-old, Roger could still see the senselessness of such loss.

This is the event, so particular and yet universal, that Roger drew on for the song “Stories of Valor.”