By Mary Hay Davis
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — The Bert Fuller Alpine VFW Post 9578 hosted a concert featuring local artist Rod Galloway Jr. on Saturday, Dec. 29. The concert, “War & The American Soldier,” was a compilation of 13 songs, interspersed with a supporting sound track that gave the songs even greater impact.
     Galloway is a local Alpine resident. The owner of an insurance agency, he was inspired to merge advocacy with artistry by penning songs that salute the legacy of American fighting soldiers and their families.
     Trading in his daytime suit and paperwork for a guitar and amplifier, Galloway set the tone for the evening’s performance by surrounding the stage with military vignettes — portraits, candles and mementos of soldiers both living and fallen — soldiers whose stories he strives to tell through his musical compositions.
     Beginning with a speech by Adolf Hitler that was followed by a 911 call from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, Galloway poignantly weaved the experiences of American soldiers through songs that feature various points of view. While the majority of songs were sung from a soldier’s perspective, a few reflected the military experience from a sweetheart’s or parent’s viewpoint.
     The performance lasted just over an hour, but Galloway has been working on the material for the past seven to eight years. Earnestly inspired to bring his dream to fruition after the death of a neighbor’s son, Galloway completed and polished his material and now presents it as a legacy to all soldiers.
     The show was Galloway’s first live performance for an audience, and he was well received at the VFW. In the most poignant moment, he invited Gold Star Mom and Dad Kirsten Yuhl-Torres and Vern Torres up to the stage to share the story of the loss of their son in Iraq.
     Galloway concluded his performance with two songs — ‘Gold Star Mom’ and ‘I Took the Shot’ — both of which wrenchingly grabbed the audience and pulled them into the stark reality faced by soldiers and their families.
     If you’d like more information on Rod Galloway and his “War & The American Soldier” performances, you can contact him either through his web site at www.myspace.com/wartheamericansoldier, or via e-mail at theamericansoldier@gmail.com.