Heroes Need Heroes, a moving music video by rising country artist and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee native Tara Thompson, will be premiering this Veterans Day, 11 Nov, 2023 in honor of our nation’s military, veterans, and first responders to raise awareness and to help mitigate the elevated suicide rate maligning these communities. The video is the end result of a five-month video shoot done in collaboration with the veteran non-profit, Spartan Sword, that spanned from one end of the country to the other.
SpartanSword.org’s mission to prevent veteran and first responder suicide comes as the rate of suicide among veterans ticking up, to 26 veterans per day taking their own lives. Video shoot locations includes:
• Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department with the Special Enforcement Bureau, Aero Bureau, K9, EOD, Dispatch, Harbor Patrol, and Carson Station.
• New York City- 9/11 Memorial and Staten Island, JFK- Transport Workers Union Veterans Committee, Point Lookout- Lido Fire Department.
• Undisclosed location- 3rd Special Forces Group
• The Davis General Store in Franklin, Tennessee with Mama Lutz, founder of Lutz Live to Tell Foundation.
Thompson’s connection with mental health issues affecting veterans is personal given that her brother currently serves in the US Army and was her inspiration behind her 2020 music video, “Sadr City.” It was on this video that Thompson first worked with Spartan Sword Chairman Boone Cutler and became deeply concerned and educated regarding the suicide epidemic occurring within the veteran and first responder communities.
Cutler, the author of the Spartan Pledge, is a well-known veteran advocate whose pledge inspires veterans to reconnect those threads of brother and sisterhood that some often become frayed after a warfighter leaves service and to find a new purpose in serving their new community in which they find themselves.
The video shows current military and first responder heroes at work and interacting with Thompson. Viewers meet Janine, “Mama” Lutz, a mother who lost her veteran son, LCpl John V. Lutz, to pharmaceutical suicide. Her story and Cutler’s Spartan Pledge are what the song is built around, humanizing all who serve our communities and country.
As the song says, “There’s a common thread in each of us, it’s the same thing we all need… a purpose, a friend, and a little hope.” The emotional video is based on a true story, taking the viewer from sadness and tragedy and then lift them up with patriotic images and a positive message about helping each other. Service members and first responders are depicted at work in some dynamic action-filled scenes.
Both Thompson and Cutler view the music video as the starting point around the broader issue of veteran and first responder suicide and have plans to release behind-the-scenes interviews with additional footage and context that the video alone can not convey.
To join the mission of suicide prevention and to donate support, visit spartansword.org, a 100% volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of veterans and first responders.
SpartanSword.org is a 501c3 non-profit organization committed to halting the rise in suicides within the veteran and first responder communities. The SpartanSword.org funds events across the United States where veterans and first responders can view the Spartan Sword and Spartan Axe and take a simple pledge to reach out to another veteran or first responder should they ever consider suicide so they can get the support they need. Make a tax-deductible donation at www.spartansword.org to support this life-changing work.