Nashville singer and songwriter JP Williams recently met with five Fort Campbell Warrior Transition Battalion Soldiers to hear their personal stories about combat which they incorporated into a song together.
Blind since the age of 10, JP has certainly experienced hard times, but he understood that everyone's hardships are different.
"I think it would be wrong for me to pretend to know what they've been through on the battlegrounds," said JP Williams. "In my own world, I've experienced my own loss, so I do know what it feels like to lose something. Maybe I have a small touch of empathy; that's the only way I can even begin to relate to what the Soldiers have been through. That's why it's been such an honor for me to meet these men and hear some of their stories. That's a sacrifice that I've never paid."
As the group talked, Sgt. Jeremy Smith picked up his guitar to share a song he wrote while in Iraq after hearing about anti-war protests military funerals back home.
"I think everyone here was very grateful that someone would take the time to approach a project like this and want to hear our side of things," said Smith, "there's not a big enough thank you that you can say to that."
Although Staff Sgt. Malik Chambers couldn't make it to the writing session, he sent his message as a poem about his deployment experience. These words inspired the group to begin their own set of lyrics.
"It kind of hit me as sort of a thought that he had, the brave ones come home early, the lucky ones come home last. It just jumped off the page," said Williams.
Their collective experiences overcoming hardships united the war fighters and the Nashville musician, building a lasting connection through the song "Green." Available in high definition.
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2013 19:30 |
| Category: | Package |
| Video ID: | 285019 |
| VIRIN: | 130226-A-LG549-648 |
| Filename: | DOD_100770617 |
| Length: | 00:05:13 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Downloads: | 1 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Nashville singer and songwriter JP Williams meet with Fort Campbell WTB Soldiers, by Fred Holly, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
