FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Music is calming for Derrick Heffner. Hip hop beats with just the right ebb and flow help him forget about the many times he has he has faced violence and death.
Heffner joined the U.S. Army in 1997. He was deployed and re-deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a weapons specialist. He provided backup support for Special Forces soldiers and saw combat “more than a few times.”