Gene Arden (“Buddy”) Vance Jr. (November 30, 1963 – May 18, 2002) was an American
soldier, a member of a
US Special Forces Airborne Army National Guard Unit who, despite being critically wounded, saved the lives of two fellow Americans and 18
Afghansoldiers during the
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). Vance's actions, life story, heroism and death were widely publicized in the
mainstream media and is featured in several books on the
War on Terrorism as well as in the
ABC reality series "Profiles from the Front Line".[1]
Both
federal and state leaders in the United States government have inscribed Vance into US history as a national
hero.[6][7] Two US
military intelligence staff buildings, a military camp in
Bagram, Afghanistan, a US state bridge, a US based
non-profit organization, an annual US citywide memorial day,
biometric laboratory, hall of
honor, city/
mountain bike path,
trademarked coffee label, and
memorial drive have been named in his honor. He received 17 awards and decorations including the US Army
Purple Heart, two
Bronze Star Medals with and the
Legion of Merit that recognizes exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of sustained, superior achievement.
Vance is a member of a multi-generational US military family spanning four generations of service. His great uncles William ‘Bittle’ Steele, US Army 4th Infantry Division Bravo Company and Clarence 'Buck' England served in the
Battle of the Bulge. His father Gene Sr. served with the
LRRP and U.S. Special Forces as a captain in the
Vietnam war and then with the Military Police in Thailand. Gene Sr. was described by the media as a lean, well-muscled lawman standing 6-foot-4, and 'ramrod straight'.[9] His uncles William Edward Vance and James Ray Vance served in long term US military careers. Gene Vance Jr.'s younger brother David is a retired
non-commissioned officer who served with the
101st Airborne performing two tours of duty in the
Iraq War and whose son, Gene's nephew, serves in the
US Navy. During his life Gene actively sought to continue his family's military legacy.[10]
Gene A. Vance Jr. was described as a 6-foot-4 inches tall "mountaineer"- an avid
outdoorsman and
physical fitness,
mountain biking,
white water rafting,
backpacking,
kayaking,
snowboarding and
chessenthusiast.[6][11] He kept much of his military life a secret from friends and family who believed he led what was described as two lives - a different life than people saw.[12]
He loved the
Grateful Dead,
John Prine and became well known to
Dick Dale as one of his fans. He liked to wear
Birkenstock sandals and Deadhead T-shirts in sharp contrast to his military life and secret government missions.[13] The reason for Gene's secrecy[14] was believed to be in part due to his modest nature and also to the secretive nature of his elite training as both a cryptologic linguist and a US Special Forces Reservist.[15] Gene had specialty skills in translating intercepted foreign state communications[16][17] and was honored by the
NSA.
Vance was a student at
West Virginia University and a 1981 graduate of
Oceana High School (West Virginia) in Wyoming County, where he was voted "most quiet" in his high school senior class. From all accounts he was a strong, shy, selfless, pleasant, gentle and quiet man who loved a wide variety of rock and roll music, and dark roast coffee.[18][19]
Vance had a daughter, Amber, from a previous marriage, and was married to Lisa Selmon Vance at the time of his death.[20] Vance's personal communications with his wife during wartime service were featured in a book entitled ‘Behind The Lines’ by author
Andrew Carroll.[21][22][23][24]
9/11
At the time of the
September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Vance was living in
Morgantown, West Virginia. He was newly married and about to go on his honeymoon. He was also just beginning a new semester at West Virginia University and managed one of West Virginia's largest sporting goods stores in the city.[25]
Among the U.S. Army responses to the
September 11 terrorist attacks was the activation of the 2nd Battalion,
19th Special Forces Group, (Airborne).[26] Vance served with the
West Virginia Army National Guard element of the battalion. Vance cancelled his honeymoon and put his studies on hold to go to war. Vance's
Persian language, cryptologic and special forces skills, harnessed at the start of the war in Afghanistan, were rare and distinguished him from the majority of the US Army.[27]
Vance's skills became vital to operations against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists.[28]
Military career
Vance attended Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Gordon, Ga., for Communications Systems Circuit Controller in 1983. In 1988, he completed the Primary Leadership Development Course at Fort Ord, Ca. and then served in various active-duty assignments both in the United States and overseas from June 1983 until June 1990.
Vance's military education included:
The Communication System Circuit Course
The Primary Leadership Development Course
The Petroleum Supply Specialist Course
The Basic Airborne Course
The Special Forces Command Basic Non commissioned Officer Course
Vance was awarded his first Bronze Star[29] for Valor for his actions in the
Persian Gulf War then joined the Army Reserves as a supply specialist in the 646th Quartermaster Company, Kingwood, W.Va., from January 1992 until October 1992. During this period, he completed the Petroleum Supply Specialist Course. He then joined Company C, 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), in October 1992. In 1994, he transferred to Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He was later awarded the military occupational skill of voice interceptor in 2001. After the events on September 11, 2001, Vance's special forces unit was activated.[15]
According to the US Military, Staff Sergeant Vance's patrol was ambushed on 18 May 2002 by Taliban fighters in the vicinity of
Shkin, Paktika Afghanistan while taking part in Operation Mountain Lion.[30] Although critically wounded in the initial attack, Staff Sergeant Vance continued to translate battlefield intelligence for Afghan forces in the area, directing them out of danger. For his actions Vance received multiple awards and decorations. He had also played a critical role in developing his detachment's communications capabilities in the US-led efforts to capture Osama Bin Laden.
Death, memorials and tributes
On May 18, 2002, Vance died from a gunshot wound to the chest according to official military reports and was posthumously promoted to Staff Sergeant. Varied accounts and reports surrounding Vance's death were widespread in the media immediately upon his death.
On Saturday, May 26, 2002, the day before US
Memorial Day approximately 1,000 people including state, national military and government officials, attended Vance's memorial service held in his hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia. West Virginia University President
David C. Hardesty, Jr., bestowed upon Vance an honorary
Bachelor of Arts degree from the university which Vance had attended before his deployment to Afghanistan saying that Vance represented "a potent combination of the ordinary and extraordinary."[31] Former US Senator
John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia was in office as the senate intelligence committee chairman at the time of Vance's death. He paid tribute to Vance's service saying that Americans who enjoy the freedoms and comforts their society provides must never forget that they do so because of men such as Sergeant Vance.[32] US Senators, Joe Manchin III and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia have paid tribute to Vance by honoring his actions to 'fight terror in the name of freedom'.[33]
On July 14, 2002, the State of West Virginia named the Oceana Junction Bridge at the intersection of State Route 85 and State Route 10, in Oceana, Wyoming County, West Virginia, the SSG Gene Arden Vance, Jr., Memorial Bridge.[34]
In December 2002,
Camp Vance,
Bagram, Afghanistan[35] located 1.4 km from the airfield at Bagram Air Base, was formed and headquartered the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan.[36][37][38]
In May 2003, the year following Vance's death, the US
National Security Agency engraved Vance's name on the NSA/CSS
Cryptologic Memorial Wall, which honors the 153 cryptologists who have given their lives in the performance of their duties since World War II.[39] That same year the second episode of the ABC reality series Profiles from the Front Line, produced by Warner Bros. and Jerry Bruckheimer Television, aired and featured the death of Sgt. Vance in the war.
In 2003, the City of Morgantown, WV named a portion of the Deckers Creek Trail which is part of the city's historical rail trail, The Vance Mile.[40]
In 2005, a revised and expanded English hard cover translation of a French language book Sur les traces d'al-qaida (On the trail of Al Qaeda) was published by
Zenith Press. It was entitled Hunting al Queda and was authored by several members of 'Beast 85', the code name of a Special Forces team from the
20th Special Forces Group, which deployed to Afghanistan in May 2002 and had become involved in the incident that claimed Vance's life.[41]
On August 25, 2006, a newly constructed building was named
Vance Barracks at the
Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and Presidio of Monterey in California. US Congressman Sam Farr of California helped secure funding for the building honoring Vance. The congressman described the War on Terrorism as a new war because it is unlike conventional warfare and asymmetrical, requiring the US military to think differently, develop capability and forces that can adapt quickly to unexpected circumstances.[42]
On December 21, 2006, Vance's brother in-law, Michael M. J. Minc formed the Gene Vance Jr. Foundation for the Catastrophically Injured in response to US soldiers returning home from the War on Terrorism with severely disfiguring injuries. The Foundation established in Vance's honor is an all volunteer, medical humanitarian non-profit organization leading an initiative entitled Operation Total Restoration[43][44][45] that marshals the forces of military and civilian specialists to help advance care for the war wounded and traumatically injured. In 2011, the Naval Medical Center San Diego presented the foundation with a certificate of appreciation for their leader's unyielding volunteer dedication to the advancement of medicine and commitment to education in Vance's name that has elevated the standard of care and expanded treatment options for the community and the United States Navy during a time of armed conflict.[46][47][48][49]
On April 24, 2007
Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas named the 344th Military Intelligence Battalion Headquarters Building on West Vance Street the Vance-Nolan Military Intelligence Building honoring two American soldiers: Staff Sgt. Vance of Morgantown, West Virginia, who was the first U.S. Army graduate of Goodfellow Air Force Base's cryptologic training to be killed in action while taking part in Operation Enduring Freedom.[50] and Sgt. Joseph M. Nolan of Waterbury, Connecticut who was the first U.S. Army graduate of the Goodfellow Air Force Base's cryptologic training to be killed in action while taking part in Operation Iraqi Freedom.[4]
On March 30, 2008, the SSG Gene Arden Vance Jr and SG DeForest Lee Talbert Hall of Honor[51] located inside the Camp Dawson Headquarters building, was dedicated in tribute honoring these two American soldiers displaying all the flags of the world atop the wall that prominently bears their names. Sgt. DeForest L. Talbert of Charleston, W.Va. died on July 27, 2004, while serving in operation Iraqi Freedom.
On August 21, 2008, the Department of Defense Biometrics Task Force (redesignated as the Biometrics Identity Management Agency in 2010) Gene Vance Biometrics Experimentation Center at
Camp Dawson (West Virginia) was dedicated in honor of Vance to house the biometrics experimentation capabilities and communications vehicle.[52]
On May 18, 2012, US Armed Forces Day and ten years following Vance's fatal shooting, a new day in the United States of America called the
Gene Vance Jr. Day was founded in Vance's hometown. It was created by the Gene Vance Jr. Foundation with support from officials representing the
State of West Virginia, City of
Morgantown,
West Virginia Army National Guard,
West Virginia University, business and media organizations to honor the legacy of American soldiers who returned home from the longest ongoing war in US history, remembers the fallen and supports the wounded in honor of their hometown hero. Framed by Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day in the United States, the day is observed annually in Morgantown on May 18.[53][54][55][56][57]
On May 1, 2012, the United States Patent and Trademark Office registered the trademark "Bud's Bold Brew Coffee" that contained a portrait of Vance in his honor.[58][59]
On May 22, 2016, the 15th anniversary year of 9/11, the City of Morgantown, WV designated a memorial highway in Vance's honor named the Gene Arden Vance Jr. Memorial Drive.[60]
On May 16, 2020, US Armed Forces Day, amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic, founder Michael M.J. Minc spearheaded the 9th annual Gene Vance Jr. Day by creating a
virtual event.[61] Entitled ‘United in Spirit’[62] it brought together government leaders like Senators
Joseph Manchin III and
Shelley Moore Capito, military leaders like Adjutant General of the
West Virginia Army National Guard, Major General James A. Hoyer, education leader
E. Gordon Gee as well as healthcare, multi denominational religious leaders along with musical performers that included
American Idol contestant and country musician, Cody Clayton Eagle, an 18-year-old Morgantown high school senior.[63]
On May 15, 2021, U.S. Armed Forces Day, amidst a continuing pandemic during the 20th Anniversary year of the September 11 attacks and the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Gene Vance Jr. Day, Michael M.J. Minc, collectively as Vance's brother in-law, founder and leader of the
Gene Vance Jr. Day, the Gene Vance Jr. Foundation
[1] and Bud's Bold Brew
[2] created a 2nd virtual tribute event entitled ‘United in Spirit 2021 American Tribute X’[64] The event received a commendation from members of congress and the 46th
president of the United States,
Joe Biden.
President Biden, who is also
commander-in-chief of the
US Armed Forces, praised the Gene Vance Jr. Foundation's efforts aimed at improving the quality of life for wounded veterans in SSG Vance's name.[65][66][67][68]
On May 21, 2022, US Armed Forces Day, amidst the 2022
Russian invasion of Ukraine during the 21st Anniversary year of 9/11 and the 11th Anniversary celebration of the Gene Vance Jr. Day, Vance's brother in-law, Michael M.J. Minc created a 3rd virtual event entitled ‘American Freedom Tribute XI' that honored the 20th anniversary of Gene Arden (“Buddy”) Vance Jr's death paying tribute to SSG Vance, the people and soldiers of
Ukraine, American soldiers and their allies that are presently serving,
war veterans who have fallen and those who are severely wounded.[72][73][74][75]
On May 29, 2022, the day before
U.S. Memorial Day,
NASCAR Cup Series paid tribute to SSG Vance's heroism [76] at The
Coca-Cola 600, an annual 600-mile (970 km) NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the
Charlotte Motor Speedway in
Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during U.S. Memorial Day weekend. Vance's name was carried by the grand marshal vehicle that lead the field. SSG Vance was one of several soldiers recognized by the grand marshal.[77]
On September 11 US
National Day of Service and Remembrance and Patriot Day 2022, in recognition of the 20th Anniversary year of SSG Vance's death, the U.S.
Special Forces Association Chapter 42 was renamed as the 'Gene Vance Jr./Pat St. Clair Special Forces Chapter 42 Association' at a 9/11 dedication ceremony held at F.O.P. Lodge 47 in Eighty-Four in
Pennsylvania, US. The ceremony was to recognize the courage and sacrifice of fallen U.S. Special Forces SSG Gene Arden Vance Jr. It also honored the service of retired Command Sergeant major Pat St. Clair of Mt. Morris, Greene County, PA who took part in the raid of the
Sơn Tây prison camp in North Vietnam in 1970 in an attempt to rescue some 61 American prisoners of war.[78]
On September 11, 2022, the 20th anniversary of SSG Vance's death, the last American flag to fly over
Camp Vance, a longtime Special Forces HQ in Bagram during the
war in Afghanistan, was presented to Jamie L. Vance-Minc and Michael M.J. Minc, Vance's sister and brother in-law, by the U.S.
10th Special Forces Group, Airborne on the 21st Anniversary of 9/11. The American flag that flew in honor of Vance at the military base that carried his name for two decades, traveled over 8,000 miles from Bagram to
Fort Carson and was presented to Vance's family by Lieutenant Colonel Matt Chaney, who was the former commander of the
3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne)[79] in Afghanistan the year Camp Vance was closed. The flag and Vance's legacy were to be honored on September 10, 2022, at
West Virginia University, Vance's
alma mater, as part of the events surrounding the historic West Virginia vs Kansas College football homecoming match.[80] Due to family circumstances the presentation took place in a private ceremony.[81][82]
^10th Special Forces Group (AIRBORNE).
"10th Special Forces Group - Airborne". Facebook. 10th Special Forces Group (AIRBORNE). Retrieved 20 October 2022.{{
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