Special Forces Association chapter renamed in honor of area Special Forces soldiers
Courtesy Pam Kearns
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Pat St. Clair, left, attends a rededication of the Gene Vance Jr./Pat St. Clair Special Forces Chapter 42 Association. The association was renamed to recognize Staff Sgt. Vance, who died in Afghanistan, and St. Clair, who served in Vietnam and took part in the historic Son Tay prison raid. Next to St. Clair, from left, are Kevin Hughes, the chapter vice president; Tom Davis, president; and Rusty Taylor, treasurer.
Courtesy of Pat Kearns
From left are the late Staff Sgt. Gene Vance Jr.’s daughter, Amber Vance; his mother, June Vance; and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Pat St. Clair of Mt. Morris. The Special Forces Chapter 42 Association recently renamed the chapter after Vance and St. Clair during a special ceremony on Sunday.
Courtesy of Pat Kearns
Lisa Vance, the widow of Staff Sgt. Gene Vance Jr., who was killed in Afghanistan in May 2002, right, attends the rededication of the Gene Vance Jr./Pat St. Clair Special Forces Chapter 42 Association. The association was renamed for Vance and St. Clair. Lisa Vance was presented a plaque from Tom Davis, president of the chapter. Behind her is a photo of Vance.
Courtesy Pam Kearns
Lisa Vance poses next to a photo of her late husband, Staff Sgt. Gene Arden Vance Jr., who was killed in Afghanistan on May 19, 2002.
The Special Forces Association Chapter 42 renamed its organization to honor two Special Forces soldiers at a 9/11 dedication ceremony held Sunday at F.O.P. Lodge 47 in Eighty-Four.
The chapter was rededicated as the Gene Vance Jr./Pat St. Clair Special Forces Chapter 42 Association, to recognize the courage and sacrifice of fallen U.S. Special Forces Sgt. Gene Arden Vance Jr., who was killed on May 19, 2002, in Afghanistan.
And it honored the service of retired Command Sgt. Maj. Pat St. Clair of Mt. Morris, Greene County, who took part in the raid of the Son Tay prison compound in North Vietnam in 1970 in an attempt to rescue some 61 American prisoners of war.
The Son Tay prison raid is considered one of the most daring Special Operations missions in U.S. military history.
Among those in attendance at Sunday’s ceremony were Vance’s mother, June Vance, his widow, Lisa Vance, and his daughter, Amber Vance, who was 18 when her father died.
“Gene was a unique and extraordinary man. He was a gentle giant,” said Davis of Vance, who loved cycling, rafting, and the outdoors. “We can never give enough love, prayers, support, comfort, or gratitude to a Gold Star Family.”
Twenty years after Vance’s death, his daughter said it is an honor to see her father’s name live on.
“I really don’t think I ever did get over losing my dad; I appreciate the Special Forces Chapter 42 Association for making it possible for me to be here this year. It means a lot to me,” said Amber. “I have so many memories with my dad. It’s always nice to hear about others remembering him as well, because it was an indescribable loss for me.”
While on patrol as part of Operation Mountain Lion, a reconnaissance sweep along the Afghan-Pakistani border, Vance, of Morgantown, W.Va., and two other members of his unit and 18 Afghan soldiers were ambushed and came under heavy fire. Vance was shot in the chest with a bullet from an AK-47 rifle.
Despite being critically wounded, Vance continued to translate and communicate battlefield intelligence to the U.S. and Afghan military forces, and is credited with saving the lives of those 20 soldiers.
Vance died aboard a military helicopter evacuating him from the battlefield. He was 38 years old.
St. Clair, who, like Vance was a member of the 19th Special Forces Group of the West Virginia National Guard, called Vance “a true American hero.”
“It’s an honor to share the chapter namesake with Gene Vance, an extraordinary person, a warrior’s warrior and a hero’s hero,” said St. Clair. “Just to share the namesake with him is extraordinary.
St. Clair was 21 years old when he was selected as one of the 56 soldiers who made up the special operations force.
“When I volunteered for (the mission), I did not know what it was. They asked for volunteers, and all they would say is, training for the mission starts in August, and if you make it back, it would be before Christmas,” St. Clair recalled.
The assault force was divided into three groups, and St. Clair was assigned to “Blueboy,” whose assignment was to land inside the heavily fortified prison camp, eliminate the guards, and free the prisoners, who were dying from starvation, torture, or illness.
St. Clair was the first man to disembark from a helicopter that crash-landed inside the prison compound on Nov. 21, 1970, and he and his team exchanged fire with a number of enemy soldiers, killing them or forcing them to retreat.
But, the soldiers discovered, the POWs had been moved shortly before the raid.
Although the operation’s primary objective was to rescue POWs, its secondary goal was to give the prisoners hope and send a message to North Vietnam that the U.S. wouldn’t leave its troops behind.
In that, the mission was a success and a morale boost to POWs, St. Clair said.
St. Clair still meets annually with the 23 surviving soldiers who participated in the Son Tay raid. He also has met with prisoners of war who were freed at the end of the war.
“Knowing and meeting POWs is a life-enlightening experience. When you consider what they endured, you can’t have a bad day. You just think about what they went through for seven or eight years.”
Chapter president Tom Davis said the decision to re-name the chapter after Vance and St. Clair, who he said is a dedicated advocate for Special Forces veterans and their families, was an easy one.
“I’m glad we were able to do this, and I’m glad to be able to call them my brothers,” said Davis.
SFA Chapter 42 is a non-profit comprised of active and retired Special Forces members from southwestern Pennsylvania, Northern West Virgina, and Southeastern Ohio.
Money raised through fundraisers are used to help raise awareness of the Special Forces community, to assist members with financial needs, and to bring attention and resources to post-traumatic stress disorder and other veteran causes. The chapter recently started a scholarship fund for members’ children and grandchildren.