MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The life of the first West Virginia National Guard member to die in the War on Terror will be remembered Saturday in Morgantown with the 11th annual Gene Vance Jr. Day.
Vance, who grew up in Wyoming County but lived in Morgantown, died May 18, 2002. while deployed in Afghanistan in the early days Operation Enduring Freedom. He came under fire while on patrol. He was 39-years-old.
“He saved the lives of 11 Afghans and two American soldiers and was critically wounded,” Mike Minc, founder of the Vance Jr. Foundation, said this week on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “They were on a mission to find Bin Laden after that terrible attack on 9/11.
Minc said, out of an abundance of caution, Saturday’s event will be held virtually and all donations will help the most severely wounded, and veterans who paid the ultimate price.
“It is to provide care for very uniquely injured veterans were you have catastrophic injuries that has never been see before in the history of modern science, medical science and modern warfare,” Minc, Vance’s brother-in-law, said.
The virtual event will feature a variety of music including the Davisson Brothers and the 249th Army Band among others. Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, Retired Major General Jim Hoyer, WVU President Gordon Gee, Morgantown Mayor Jenny Selin and the Command Sargent Major of the 19th Special Forces Group will offer tributes.
“The purpose of the event this year is to honor and pay tribute to the people and soldiers of the Ukraine, American soldiers and their allies that are presently serving, veterans who have fallen and those who are severely wounded and have sacrificed much protecting American values and our way of life,” Minc said.
Saturday is also Armed Forces Day.
A link to the foundation website and virtual event is here.