"Accidental Patriot" - Sean Davis

In May of 2014 Army National Guard Veteran Sean Davis was taken to Nashville, TN, to write with professionals about his experiences overseas.  In the end, the song "Accidental Patriot" was created in honor of Sean's fallen friend and fellow Guardsman, Eric.  We thank Sean for his service to our country, and we thank the writers in Nashville for working with him to create a song in memory of Eric's sacrifice. 
 

(See video recording of "Accidental Patriot" at the bottom.  Writers: Sean Davis, Lance Carpenter, and Matt Mason)
 
Here is Sean's Story:

 

          When Richard Casper, founder of Creativets, told me about his program I thought it was a great idea. I know first hand how art can help combat-injured vets heal. I credit art with saving my life. Painting and writing my book got me through the hardest times.  Richard and I were speaking at a college event in Michigan when he told me that I should go down to Nashville and write a country song, and like so many other veterans I thought there had to be a couple dozen other veterans more deserving, but Richard kept at it and sent me the tickets.
 

            I was hit in an ambush outside Taji, Iraq, in 2004. A good friend of mine was killed instantly and the explosion broke the right side of my body. The physical injuries healed but for a long time the survivor’s guilt ate at me, along with the guilt of being in charge and losing a man. Ten years have gone by and I feel I’ve been able to put most of the difficult times behind me, but during my writing session with the kick-ass writers Richard lined up I learned there was still a lot unsaid, unfelt, and unrealized.

 

            I had no idea what to expect. I wasn’t apprehensive because I was able to spend a week with Richard before heading south and as two former infantrymen we hit it off, but music was an avenue I never tried before. So, I may not have been apprehensive but truthfully I may have been cynical. I just didn’t think I had the ability to write a song, but after sitting through the session and having a blast with Lance Carpenter, Matt Mason, and Richard, I found that making the music was just as much about the experience than the song itself. At the end of my trip CreatiVets surprised me with a guitar of my own, and I might just be beginning my road as a song writer, but for now just sitting in my writing office and plucking on the strings the way the YouTube video tells me does more to relax me than I would have ever imagined.

 

            The unexpected benefits of the program keep happening. Now that I’ve gone through the program, I get to refer the most deserving soldiers I know, so they can have the amazing experience I did. Not only that but the song I wrote just poured out of me and it was about Eric, my soldier who died, and how he was a great human being, and how after ten years I’m afraid people are starting to forget his sacrifice. I played the demo recording Matt Mason sent me to my wife and shared the lyrics with Eric’s mother. They had tears in their eyes and with the song I know that even the people who never heard of Eric will understand his life, his death, and how his story is worth reminding our society about.  
 

            I want to thank Richard, the Gibson Guitar Company, the songwriters, and everyone else who made this experience a reality. It was an amazing once in a lifetime experience that will help other veterans heal as well as help our culture remember the sacrifices our men and women in uniform have given to this country.