Monday, October 14, 2024
GREEN BAY – A full spectrum of emotions could be felt at the Epic Center on Oct. 3 during the Operation Song concert.
Operation Song empowers veterans, active-duty military and their families through music.
The nonprofit collaborates with professional songwriters to help participants tell their stories and transform them into songs.
This therapeutic process provides a creative outlet for expressing experiences, fostering healing and building connections.
“My dad was in ROTC, so he knew at some point he was going to have to leave. My mom said, ‘I need something when you go’ and that was me,” Kathy Treankler said about her high school sweetheart parents. “They weren’t sure if he would ever come back.”
Treankler’s father was an Army Engineer Officer and served a tour in Vietnam.
“He was not afraid to die for his country if he needed. He was a very admirable man. He left for Vietnam and was gone for quite a while, came back to a toddler and was trying to readjust to society.”
Her father was diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
“With pancreatic cancer, by the time we find it it’s too late,” she said. “We started working with the VA and the type of cancer he had was on the list from agent orange.”
Operation Song offers songwriting workshops, retreats and community programs across the United States.
These initiatives aim to address the emotional and psychological challenges faced by military personnel and their families, using the power of music as a tool for recovery and resilience.
The Green Bay retreat was held on Oct. 2, one day before the concert
“I was honored to go through this process. It was an amazing process,” Treankler added.
Treankler wrote a song about her father with Menominee Falls native and Nashville songwriter Tayor Davis.
The evening opened with their song, and Treankler’s mother was in the audience.
“It was a labor of love. My mom had no idea,” she explained.
Founded in 2012, Operation Song has produced hundreds of songs, helping participants find their voice, share their stories and inspire others through music.
By bridging the gap between the civilian and military communities, Operation Song creates understanding and appreciation through the shared experience of songwriting.
Operation Song also offers opportunities for professional songwriters to give back to their communities by volunteering their skills and expertise in helping veterans and military families.
This creates a sense of purpose and fulfillment for both parties involved in the songwriting process.
“I put out a veteran’s tribute song last November 11th for Veterans Day,” county music artist Kurt Stevens said.
Stevens is a musical ambassador for a Key West rum company and said, “Operation Song was holding an event at the distillery down there.
“They called me up and they were like, hey, we have these people coming down from Nashville to put on this songwriter event. Like, you should totally be involved, especially with this new song you have coming out.
“They connected us all and I went down there and did my first writing session with a couple vets and it was a really awesome experience and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
“There’s all sorts of different formats,” Davis added. “We do it remote. We have Zoom and Skype that veterans can sign up for. They can sign up online and they get paired up with us. And you can be family members too, because I’ve written with veteran’s kids or wives or husbands, you know, whoever.”
The evening continued with retreat partnered created songs performed by Matt McKinney, Kurt Stevens and AJ Kross. The evening concluded with a performance by headliner singer/songwriter Jesse G.
The power of music was evident throughout the event, as it brought people together and created a sense of community, showing that music can transcend barriers and bring people from all walks of life together in a common experience.
For more information on Operation Song, visit www.operationsong.org.
