Members of the Patriot Guard Riders fall into formation at Staff Sgt. Gene Vance Jr.’s resting place during a memorial service Sunday afternoon, at the East Oak Grove Cemetery in Morgantown.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In honor of Armed Forces Week, the third annual Gene Vance Jr. Day was held Sunday, May 18, to remember a Morgantown native who sacrificed his life in Afghanistan in 2002, as well as all other U.S. Armed Forces.
After ceremonies at Camp Dawson in Kingwood, a procession led those in attendance to East Oak Grove Cemetery in Morgantown. A public assembly and prayer were held for men and women still in uniform, those who have fallen and those who were injured, next to the grave of Sgt. Vance.
“Any military member who serves would want to go the way that Vance did,” said Greg Carden, Vance’s friend and former comrade in arms. “It’s the honorable way.”
According to historians, Vance was the first member of the West Virginia National Guard to die in active combat since World War II.
