Singer-songwriter Jason Moon collected material from 42 fellow veterans.
Four long years after he returned from the Iraq War, Jason Moon almost lost the battle. In veterans’ lingo that means he attempted suicide. He woke up in a VA Hospital and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. That’s when he started fighting his demons by writing songs about his experiences in the military.
Two years later, in 2010, Moon released a full-length album, Trying to Find my Way Home. Veterans and their loved ones responded by email, letters and phone, telling him that the songs spoke to them and even helped prevent suicide. Moon started traveling around the country, performing, offering arts and music workshops to veterans and collecting their stories. If You Have to Ask…Warrior Songs Vol. 1 is a brand-new 14-track album telling these stories through music. Forty-two veterans contributed to it.
“If you have to ask you weren’t there,” goes the saying, and the album is an attempt to help veterans know they’re not alone while letting civilians know what it’s like to be in war. According to a Veterans Administration study, some 20 U.S. veterans commit suicide each day. Many veterans feel isolated, says Moon, because they carry the burdens all by themselves.
Meticulously produced, the album includes some heavy hitters: musicians such as drummer Jerry Marotta, who plays with Peter Gabriel’s band, Orleans, and the Indigo Girls; the Mambo Surfers, who won the 2000 Wisconsin Area Music Industry Award for ethnic/world group of the year; and Sheila Shigley, whose band the Getaway Drivers has won several Madison Area Music Awards.
The music flows from rock to folk, and includes the haunting ballad “Why Are We Here” by five-time Purple Heart recipient Todd Fahn. A soaring choir backs some of the tracks, while others are more stripped down, reminiscent of Pete Seeger. All lyrics were either written by veterans or based on their stories. “Hey ho, here we go/Load ’em up and watch them go/Where they go nobody knows” sings Jacob George, the only contributor who won’t be around to share the music; he returned from three tours in Afghanistan with PTSD and eventually committed suicide.
“Ying and the Yang” is the story of Marine Henry G., who was raped by his drill sergeant. “Brothers” tells the story of a Marine who killed two little boys who had been strapped with suicide bombs. “It continues to haunt you,” says Moon.
Moon’s own song, “The Things We Carried,” emerged from an art retreat where veterans were asked what they carried literally and psychically during war. “In war we carry a lot of gear, but that’s the lightest thing when compared to what we carried inside: the horrors of war, the fear, losing friends,” he says.
Iraq War veteran Melissa Doud, a Native American from northern Wisconsin, writes and sings about the jingle dress she made out of empty bullet casings. “My wounded spirit sings when I dance...dancing with the power of my mother the Earth. My Eagle Father.”
Eight thousand copies of Moon’s first CD were given out free to veterans, and Warrior Songs Vol. 1 is also available free for vets. Proceeds from sales to non-vets fund future projects. Warrior Songs Vol. 2, slated for 2018, will be devoted to the experiences of female veterans.
