As a fan of Rise Against, one song that has always resonated with me is “Hero of War” from their fifth album, Appeal to Reason (2008). This powerful track delves into the story of an Iraq war veteran reflecting on the realities and hardships he faced during his time serving. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the protagonist’s journey, and it’s no surprise that this song stands as one of Rise Against’s most politically charged and impactful songs when it comes to war.

https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-hero-of-war-by-rise-against-2/

Off of Rise Against’s fifth album Appeal to Reason, “Hero Of War” is about an Iraq war veteran looking back on the hardships he endured during the war. The song starts out with an army recruiter asking the protagonist, a potential recruit, to enlist. With promises of adventure and money, they do indeed sign up. At the end of the song, the enlistee, now a veteran, recalls with bitter irony the army recruiter’s promise that signing up would mean he could see the world.

Rise Against is definitely a politically motivated band and this song is easily one of their best/most vocal songs regarding war.

When asked by ARTISTdirect about having learned more about the Vietnam War through music, rather than history books, McIlrath replied with:

I was talking about the song, “Hero of War,” when I said that. It was written expressly with that idea in mind. It was a way to documenting what’s going on, like other artists documented for their generation and for generations to come. I felt it was a service to kids like me. “Fortunate Son” or “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, which are huge hits today, were songs that I learned from. Mass media brought that song to my ears. It was a great way to remind Americans or others around the world what was going on at the time. There are not many songs serving that purpose in 2008 or talking about what’s going on during eight years of occupation in Iraq. That, combined with meeting active soldiers and retired soldiers at our shows and hearing those stories about what is going on on the ground amid all the bullshit, showed me the differences from what is really happening to what is happening in the news media. I just thought that this needed to go into a song. There needs to be more of these kinds of songs, so I figured, let’s write one.

Guitarist Zach Blair told Ultimate-Guitar.com about this multi-layered acoustic guitar song:

That was a song Tim (McIlrath, frontman) had in the studio and it was one of those things that were like it was his baby; it was his whole thing. It’s a brilliant song and it might raise a few eyebrows but I stand behind it a hundred percent. It will be when we do it live; when we do a lot of radio and we’re promoting the record, Tim and I do a lot of the acoustic songs. It first it was gonna be really bare bones, just one acoustic guitar line, but they started adding more things onto it. Such is the case: This band gets real layered sometimes and it’s always best to layer a lot and take away afterward. Yeah, that one got real layered; it was always just Tim sittin’ there by himself just goin’ for it.

https://genius.com/Rise-against-hero-of-war-lyrics

This song was inspired by the 2006 documentary The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends, which focuses on soldiers’ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after returning home from war. The song tells the story of a guy who enlists in the military, figuring he’ll be celebrated as a war hero after he does his duty. He ends up fighting overseas under horrific conditions, and ends up torturing a prisoner and killing a civilian under duress.

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/rise-against/hero-of-war