Navy Corpsman Turned Performing Artist Releases Powerful Music Video Spotlighting Gold Star Moms

With Mother’s Day and Memorial Day just around the corner, it’s a poignant time of year for those who lost someone in military service, those who miss their moms, and moms who have lost a child.

So the May 6 release of the “Dear Mom” video seems to be perfectly timed. “

Dear Mom” is written and performed by former Navy Corpsman Shannon Book, along with his band, Deliberately Broken.

The song is born from a request Shannon received, to write a song about Gold Star Moms. For those unfamiliar with the term, a Gold Star Mom is a mom who has lost a son or daughter in military service. The term “Gold Star,” when placed in front of the words wife, brother, sister, family, also refers to someone who has lost a loved one in military service.

Shannon is no stranger to loss and sacrifice.

From close friends he has lost both during and after active duty, others he has lost along the way, and the memories of his service that haunt his heart to this day, death and loss are painfully familiar to him. This request would require him to unlock doors he’s meticulously locked over the years. But locks such as those are fragile anyway, often breaking open as if of their own volition, to release the memories upon us.

For artists, harnessing those memories and feelings is like jumping on the bareback of a wild stallion, riding out the bucks, taking hard falls, and climbing back on until both spirits are in harmony, gracefully riding together.

His song, Dear Mom, has been out in the world for about a decade now, flying under the radar along with zillions of other songs by unsigned artists.

That is about to change with the release of this video. With the help of Operation Encore, which funded the project, and the extraordinary talent of people like Director Chris Martini and cinematographer Chad Campbell, Shannon and a cast of all military families spent a few days on set filming this powerful video.

While the video reflects its military origins, the song has evolved to transcend military sacrifice. All you need to do is listen to the lyrics as if being spoken directly to you, by the person you miss. Then listen to it again, letting it wash over you – and let the bittersweet tears fall.

In this episode, Shannon shares his personal story of service and working for years to see his dreams become reality. He shares insight on what it takes to never stop believing in that dream. He takes us behind the scenes of the filming, as well. I was blessed to have been cast as the Gold Star Mom in this video.

We will be sharing it across our platforms on May 6, and we cannot wait for Shannon to perform this live at our Great American Summit! Make sure to share it with everyone you know, too- because it will impact them as well as help make the next part of this dream take shape: we need this to go viral!