Returning to civilian life after serving 11 months in combat with a combat engineer battalion in Iraq, Jason Moon, like many other combat veterans, struggled with PTSD. Tormented with depression, insomnia, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, and other symptoms, he even attempted suicide twice. He also lost friends and fellow soldiers whose attempts were successful.
Before his military service, Moon had been a singer-songwriter, but as a veteran, he found himself unable to create music. This changed in 2009 when the producers of the feature-length documentary “On the Bridge” asked him to write and record a song they could use during their credits. With newfound energy and passion, Moon wrote an entire album of original music based on his struggles as a Veteran called “Trying to Find My Way Home.”
Touring throughout the US over the next year, Moon soon discovered he was far from alone. Many veterans resonated with the themes in his music and told him how his songs had given them hope for the first time — and even helped save their lives.
That’s when Moon understood the power of music to transform pain and tragedy into connection and understanding. To reach as many veterans as possible, he launched the Warrior Songs nonprofit dedicated to enabling veterans to give voice to their experiences through songwriting and the creative arts.
Expressing hard truths Veterans recognize
Warrior Songs pairs veterans with songwriters who create original music based on the veterans’ wartime and other key experiences, resulting in songs based on real life that enable veterans to feel heard, respected, and understood. Those songs are then released on a series of compilation albums that the 501(c)(3) organization gifts to veterans. The CDs are shipped free of charge and may be ordered through the organization’s website, which also offers digital downloads.
To date, Warrior Songs has distributed over 85,000 of its physical albums to veterans. Funds from any sales are directed toward future Warrior Songs compilations and projects.
Part of the healing that comes from Warrior Songs’ albums derives from their ability to express hard truths about veterans’ difficult and even traumatizing experiences. For instance, the track “Brothers” on the organization’s very first album, “If You Have to Ask… Warrior Songs Vol. 1,” describes the agonizing moment a soldier needed to decide whether or not to open fire on two teenagers approaching a sensitive military installation.
When veterans listen to these songs, they understand they aren’t alone. Having their service honored in this way also promotes feelings of self-acceptance, which is why Warrior Songs compilations seek to give voice to as many different kinds of military members as possible. “It also helps civilians understand the realities of military service,” Moon explains.
Raising the voices of diverse sources
In a first for the modern music world, Warrior Songs’ second album, “Women at War,” shines a light on the wrenching testimony of 18 women veterans and two Gold Star families. This groundbreaking compilation represents the efforts of 17 songwriters, 64 professional musicians, and 13 sound engineers in five states. It won the Wisconsin Area Music Award for 2019 Album of the Year and its track “Warrior Wings” earned Pop Song of the Year at the 2019 Native American Music Awards.
Volume 3, which was released in 2021, focuses on the experiences of 35 veterans from the Vietnam Era. The tracks were written by 19 songwriters and recorded in 12 studios across the US with 83 participating musicians. Warrior Songs’ latest project, Volume 4, centers on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) veterans.
BIPOC Veterans: Warrior Songs Vol 4
Warrior Songs’ “BIPOC Veterans: Warrior Songs Vol. 4” seeks to amplify the voices of veterans from BIPOC communities. Moon’s team used the military’s actual demographic makeup as reported by the Department of Defense to create a compilation that reflects the composition of the armed forces.
Warrior Songs began collecting testimony from BIPOC Veterans in 2020, and songwriting for Volume 4’s 14 new original songs began soon after. In one, a Black US Air Force veteran describes losing his older brother — another veteran — to suicide. Others examine the realities of military sexual trauma. Another tells the story of a child of Japanese descent who was imprisoned in the US’s internment camps during World War II and went on to serve the US in the Vietnam War. The album will also take up themes of racial profiling, police brutality, and sex-based discrimination.
While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed this project’s timeline, recording is currently in process and expected to continue until early spring of 2025. At that point, mixing and mastering will occur, as well as post-production and promotional efforts.
The album is slated to be released on Memorial Day in 2025 at an event with live performances. As usual, veterans and non-profit organizations that serve veterans can expect to receive the CD as well as digital downloads for free.
However, that’s just the beginning, as Warrior Songs plans to release five more albums through 2035. Volumes will be dedicated to injured and disabled veterans, those from Native and Indigenous communities, veterans who are members of the LGBTQ community, and another will focus on the role of friends and family. “Tales from the Combat Zone” is the title of another upcoming album, and the last will give voice to civilians who have survived warzones.
Music has the power to heal
Music has the power to heal. That’s why Moon turned to songwriting to cope with the aftermath of his military service, and why veterans of all kinds take comfort in Warrior Songs. In a world that can seem full of darkness, Jason Moon and Warrior Songs bring hope.
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