Kip Winger has been spending his time between touring with his band and writing orchestral music for the likes of ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon (Winger took ballet when he was a teenager). But Winger IV, released in 2006, devoted several songs to the soldier experience.

When Kip Winger recently taped an appearance on public television’s “Legends & Lyrics,” he got a surprise visit from four-star Gen. Harold Cross, who presented Winger with a plaque for the IV song “Blue Suede Shoes” (not the Carl Perkins tune).

Winger was also honored with the last flag to fly over Forward Operating Base, Kalso, which is located 20 miles south of Baghdad. Before the base was turned over to the Iraqis, the base was the U.S. Army soldiers’ broadband Internet services facility as well as a base to combat unrest in the Sunni Triangle.

“I had been doing solo shows at military bases and in speaking with many of the soldiers, their stories touched me,” Winger said in a statement. “It was amazing to hear how far-reaching our music was and how many soldiers have been moved by it. I was truly humbled by the stories.”