Leon Vance
Encyclopedia
Leon Robert "Bob" Vance, Jr. (August 11, 1916 – July 26, 1944) was a Medal of Honor
recipient who served in the United States Army Air Forces
during World War II
.
. Vance attended Enid schools from first grade through high school. His father, Leon Robert Vance Sr., was a junior high school
principal and also a civil aviation flight instructor
, while his uncle had been an aviator in the Army Air Service
who had been killed in France during World War I
.
Vance was considered an above-average student and a great athlete. His father, as principal, thought of education as having great importance, and this spurred Vance, Jr. to challenge himself by taking difficult courses in high school. He averaged a 94 percent in mathematics
.
Vance attended Oklahoma University for two years, becoming a member of Phi Delta Theta
. After his sophomore year, Vance entered the United States Military Academy
on July 1, 1935, as a member of the Class of 1939.
A 1999 article in U.S. News and World Report called Vance and his West Point classmates the "Warrior Class" because they were destined to fight in World War II
, the Korean War
, and the Vietnam War
. In his First Class (senior) year, Vance was selected as a cadet sergeant in Company A of the Corps of Cadets. He graduated June 12, 1939, ranked 318th in order of general merit in a class of 456, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Infantry.
While training at Mitchel Field
on Long Island, Vance met Garden City
resident, Georgette Drury Brown. They married the day after his graduation from West Point and had a daughter, Sharon, born in 1942. Vance would later name his assigned aircraft The Sharon D. after his daughter.
for Primary flight training, graduating the following March, and then to nearby Kelly Field for Advanced Flight School, where he graduated with Class 40C, earning his wings on June 21, 1940. Vance was also recommissioned as a first lieutenant, Air Corps
. He served as an instructor until February 1941, when he was transferred to Goodfellow Army Air Field
in San Angelo, Texas
, and assigned to command the 49th School Squadron. He was at Goodfellow when the United States entered World War II in December 1941, was promoted to captain on April 6 and major on July 17, and remained in command of his basic flight training squadron until re-assigned to Strother AAF
, Kansas, in December 1942 as Director of Flying. While at Goodfellow, Horace Carswell and Jack Mathis (then an enlisted clerk), both of whom would subsequently receive the Medal of Honor posthumously, served in Vance's squadron. Vance was promoted to lieutenant colonel
in September 1943, after little more than four years' service.
After transition training to the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Vance was assigned in December 1943 to the 489th Bombardment Group
at Wendover AAF
, Utah
, as Deputy Group Commander. The group completed its training and prepared for overseas movement in April 1944, one of the last heavy bombardment groups to be assigned to the Eighth Air Force
. The group was assigned to the 95th Combat Bombardment Wing
of the 2nd Bomb Division and based at RAF Halesworth
. Vance led the group on its first combat mission, bombing the Luftwaffe
airfield at Oldenburg
, Germany
, on May 30, 1944.
coastal defenses near Wimereaux
, France
, in the Pas-de-Calais, to support the anticipated D-Day landings. The group had lost six bombers on a mission to bomb Brétigny Airfield
near Paris
on June 2 (Vance did not participate), partly as a consequence of attempting to bomb visually in poor weather conditions. As a result, the lead aircraft of the 489th's formation on June 5 was a Pathfinder Force (PFF) "Mickey"
B-24 detached from the 44th Bomb Group
's 66th Bomb Squadron
to enable the group to bomb through overcast using "blind bombing" tactics. Vance positioned himself on the bomber's flight deck, standing behind the aircraft commander and co-pilot.
After an 0900 takeoff, the group assembled its formation and climbed to its assigned 22500 ft (6,858 m) altitude for the short flight to the French coast. The group approached the target area from the south but the bombs of the lead aircraft failed to release, and as a result none of the group bombed. Vance decided to make a second pass over the target rather than jettison the bombs into the English Channel
, but as the formation approached the target a second time, it came under intense anti-aircraft
fire ("flak"). The lead B-24 immediately sustained heavy battle damage. It continued the bomb run, however, and toggled its ordnance, but was further damaged by multiple flak bursts. In all, four crewmen were wounded, three of the four engines were disabled, and fuel lines ruptured in the fuselage. In addition, one of the aircraft's bombs again failed to release. Immediately after bomb release, shrapnel from a final burst killed the aircraft commander and wounded Vance, nearly severing his right foot, which became wedged in cockpit framework behind the copilot's seat. In the chaos that followed, comments on the interphone led Vance to believe that the crew's radio operator, wounded in the legs, was too seriously injured to be evacuated.
The B-24 lost altitude rapidly after the pilot was killed, but the wounded copilot regained controlled flight, preventing a stall by putting it into a steep glide to maintain airspeed. Despite shock from his own wound, Vance was able to assist the copilot in "feathering" the propellers, shutting down the over-strained fourth engine, and optimizing the glide of the crippled aircraft. The crew's "Mickey" operator, 2nd Lt. Bernard W. Bail, tried to dislodge Vance's pinned foot and applied a makeshift tourniquet
.
When the B-24 reached the English coast, it was too damaged to land safely. Vance ordered the crew to "bail out," and after most had complied, took the controls and turned the aircraft back over the channel, where the remainder parachuted into the sea. He decided to attempt a water landing
in the belief that the injured radio operator was still on the aircraft, even though B-24s were notoriously ill-suited for "ditching." From a semi-prone position over the power plant controls island between the crew seats, Vance flew the bomber mainly by use of aileron
s and elevator
s, keeping a visual reference through the side window of the cockpit. Although the Liberator survived the ditching largely intact, its dorsal gun turret collapsed and pinned Vance inside the flooded cockpit as the bomber sank. An explosion blew him clear of the wreckage, however, and he was eventually able to inflate his Mae West. After searching for the radio operator, Vance swam towards shore. He was finally picked up by an RAF Air-Sea Rescue
launch after fifty minutes.
Nearly two months later, after receiving medical treatment in the United Kingdom, Vance was sent back to the United States on a Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport for further treatment and possible fitting of a prosthetic
foot. The C-54 with all aboard disappeared on July 26, 1944, and was presumed to have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean
between Iceland
and Newfoundland. The recommendation that he be awarded the Medal of Honor was confirmed in orders on January 4, 1945, but his widow requested that the awards ceremony be delayed until the medal could be presented to their daughter. On October 11, 1946, Major General James P. Hodges, commander of the 2nd Bomb Division when Vance was assigned to it, made the presentation to Sharon Vance at Enid Army Air Base
.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, Air Corps, 489th Bombardment Group (H)
Place and date: Over Wimereux. France, June 5, 1944
Entered service at: Garden City, New York
Born: August 11, 1916, Enid, Oklahoma
General Orders No. 1, January 4, 1945
Citation:
in his honor on July 9, 1949. He was further honored when Gate 40 of Tinker Air Force Base
, Oklahoma, was renamed "Vance Gate" on May 9, 1997.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient who served in the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early life and family
Leon Robert Vance, Jr. was born and raised in Enid, OklahomaEnid, Oklahoma
Enid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. In 2010, the population was 49,379, making it the ninth largest city in Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a...
. Vance attended Enid schools from first grade through high school. His father, Leon Robert Vance Sr., was a junior high school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
principal and also a civil aviation flight instructor
Flight instructor
A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit...
, while his uncle had been an aviator in the Army Air Service
United States Army Air Service
The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
who had been killed in France during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Vance was considered an above-average student and a great athlete. His father, as principal, thought of education as having great importance, and this spurred Vance, Jr. to challenge himself by taking difficult courses in high school. He averaged a 94 percent in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
.
Vance attended Oklahoma University for two years, becoming a member of Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
. After his sophomore year, Vance entered the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
on July 1, 1935, as a member of the Class of 1939.
A 1999 article in U.S. News and World Report called Vance and his West Point classmates the "Warrior Class" because they were destined to fight in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In his First Class (senior) year, Vance was selected as a cadet sergeant in Company A of the Corps of Cadets. He graduated June 12, 1939, ranked 318th in order of general merit in a class of 456, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Infantry.
While training at Mitchel Field
Mitchel Air Force Base
Decommissioned in 1961, Mitchel Field became a multi-use complex currently home to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Nassau Coliseum, Mitchel Athletic Complex, Nassau Community College and Hofstra University.-Origins:...
on Long Island, Vance met Garden City
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
resident, Georgette Drury Brown. They married the day after his graduation from West Point and had a daughter, Sharon, born in 1942. Vance would later name his assigned aircraft The Sharon D. after his daughter.
Military service
Vance requested pilot training and completed Basic School at the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa. On September 13, 1939, he was assigned to Randolph Field, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
for Primary flight training, graduating the following March, and then to nearby Kelly Field for Advanced Flight School, where he graduated with Class 40C, earning his wings on June 21, 1940. Vance was also recommissioned as a first lieutenant, Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
. He served as an instructor until February 1941, when he was transferred to Goodfellow Army Air Field
Goodfellow Air Force Base
Goodfellow Air Force Base is a non-flying United States Air Force base located in San Angelo, Texas. As part of Air Education & Training Command , Goodfellow's main mission is cryptologic and intelligence training for the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Military firefighters are also...
in San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
, and assigned to command the 49th School Squadron. He was at Goodfellow when the United States entered World War II in December 1941, was promoted to captain on April 6 and major on July 17, and remained in command of his basic flight training squadron until re-assigned to Strother AAF
Strother Field
Strother Field is a public airport located in Cowley County, Kansas, five miles southwest of the central business district of Winfield and north of Arkansas City...
, Kansas, in December 1942 as Director of Flying. While at Goodfellow, Horace Carswell and Jack Mathis (then an enlisted clerk), both of whom would subsequently receive the Medal of Honor posthumously, served in Vance's squadron. Vance was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
in September 1943, after little more than four years' service.
489th Bombardment Group
The 489th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the IV Bomber Command, stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945....
at Wendover AAF
Wendover Air Force Base
Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. During World War II it was a training base for B-17 and B-24 bomber crews. It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B-29 unit which dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, as Deputy Group Commander. The group completed its training and prepared for overseas movement in April 1944, one of the last heavy bombardment groups to be assigned to the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
. The group was assigned to the 95th Combat Bombardment Wing
95th Bombardment Wing (World War II)
The 95th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Continental Air Forces, based at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota...
of the 2nd Bomb Division and based at RAF Halesworth
RAF Halesworth
RAF Halesworth is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is west of Southwold in Suffolk.-USAAF use:Halesworth was built in 1942–1943 and was intended for use as a bomber station. It was built as a bomber station, with a 6,000 ft. main runway and two secondary runways of...
. Vance led the group on its first combat mission, bombing the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
airfield at Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, on May 30, 1944.
Medal of Honor mission
On June 5, 1944, Vance was assigned to lead the 489th BG on a diversionary attack against GermanNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
coastal defenses near Wimereaux
Wimereux
Wimereux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the banks of the river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern boundary of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in the Pas-de-Calais, to support the anticipated D-Day landings. The group had lost six bombers on a mission to bomb Brétigny Airfield
Brétigny-sur-Orge Air Base
Brétigny-sur-Orge Air Base is a French Air Force base. The base is located approximately southeast of Brétigny-sur-Orge; about south of Paris.-Units:...
near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on June 2 (Vance did not participate), partly as a consequence of attempting to bomb visually in poor weather conditions. As a result, the lead aircraft of the 489th's formation on June 5 was a Pathfinder Force (PFF) "Mickey"
H2X radar
H2X radar was an American development of the British H2S radar, the first ground mapping radar to be used in combat. It was used by the USAAF during World War II as a navigation system for daylight overcast and nighttime operations...
B-24 detached from the 44th Bomb Group
44th Operations Group
The 44th Fighter Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit, assigned to Tenth Air Force. It is stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was activated on 9 April 2010....
's 66th Bomb Squadron
66th Missile Squadron
The United States Air Force's 66th Missile Squadron was a missile unit located at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. After the end of the Cold War, and lessening of tensions with Russia, the 66th MS was deactivated along with its contingent of Minuteman II missiles.-History:Established in early 1941 as...
to enable the group to bomb through overcast using "blind bombing" tactics. Vance positioned himself on the bomber's flight deck, standing behind the aircraft commander and co-pilot.
After an 0900 takeoff, the group assembled its formation and climbed to its assigned 22500 ft (6,858 m) altitude for the short flight to the French coast. The group approached the target area from the south but the bombs of the lead aircraft failed to release, and as a result none of the group bombed. Vance decided to make a second pass over the target rather than jettison the bombs into the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, but as the formation approached the target a second time, it came under intense anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
fire ("flak"). The lead B-24 immediately sustained heavy battle damage. It continued the bomb run, however, and toggled its ordnance, but was further damaged by multiple flak bursts. In all, four crewmen were wounded, three of the four engines were disabled, and fuel lines ruptured in the fuselage. In addition, one of the aircraft's bombs again failed to release. Immediately after bomb release, shrapnel from a final burst killed the aircraft commander and wounded Vance, nearly severing his right foot, which became wedged in cockpit framework behind the copilot's seat. In the chaos that followed, comments on the interphone led Vance to believe that the crew's radio operator, wounded in the legs, was too seriously injured to be evacuated.
The B-24 lost altitude rapidly after the pilot was killed, but the wounded copilot regained controlled flight, preventing a stall by putting it into a steep glide to maintain airspeed. Despite shock from his own wound, Vance was able to assist the copilot in "feathering" the propellers, shutting down the over-strained fourth engine, and optimizing the glide of the crippled aircraft. The crew's "Mickey" operator, 2nd Lt. Bernard W. Bail, tried to dislodge Vance's pinned foot and applied a makeshift tourniquet
Tourniquet
An emergency tourniquet is a tightly tied band applied around a body part sometimes used in an attempt to stop severe traumatic bleeding. Tourniquets are also used during venipuncture and other medical procedures. Severe bleeding means the loss of more than 1,000 ml of blood. This flow of blood...
.
When the B-24 reached the English coast, it was too damaged to land safely. Vance ordered the crew to "bail out," and after most had complied, took the controls and turned the aircraft back over the channel, where the remainder parachuted into the sea. He decided to attempt a water landing
Water landing
A water landing is, in the broadest sense, any landing on a body of water. All waterfowl, those seabirds capable of flight, and some human-built vehicles are capable of landing in water as a matter of course....
in the belief that the injured radio operator was still on the aircraft, even though B-24s were notoriously ill-suited for "ditching." From a semi-prone position over the power plant controls island between the crew seats, Vance flew the bomber mainly by use of aileron
Aileron
Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...
s and elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s, keeping a visual reference through the side window of the cockpit. Although the Liberator survived the ditching largely intact, its dorsal gun turret collapsed and pinned Vance inside the flooded cockpit as the bomber sank. An explosion blew him clear of the wreckage, however, and he was eventually able to inflate his Mae West. After searching for the radio operator, Vance swam towards shore. He was finally picked up by an RAF Air-Sea Rescue
Air-sea rescue
Air-sea rescue is the coordinated search and rescue of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their sea-going vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships...
launch after fifty minutes.
Nearly two months later, after receiving medical treatment in the United Kingdom, Vance was sent back to the United States on a Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport for further treatment and possible fitting of a prosthetic
Prosthesis
In medicine, a prosthesis, prosthetic, or prosthetic limb is an artificial device extension that replaces a missing body part. It is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of using mechanical devices with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control...
foot. The C-54 with all aboard disappeared on July 26, 1944, and was presumed to have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
between Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and Newfoundland. The recommendation that he be awarded the Medal of Honor was confirmed in orders on January 4, 1945, but his widow requested that the awards ceremony be delayed until the medal could be presented to their daughter. On October 11, 1946, Major General James P. Hodges, commander of the 2nd Bomb Division when Vance was assigned to it, made the presentation to Sharon Vance at Enid Army Air Base
Vance Air Force Base
Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located 6 km south of downtown Enid, Oklahoma, and within its city limits, about north northwest of Oklahoma City...
.
Medal of Honor citation
Vance, Leon RobertRank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, Air Corps, 489th Bombardment Group (H)
Place and date: Over Wimereux. France, June 5, 1944
Entered service at: Garden City, New York
Born: August 11, 1916, Enid, Oklahoma
General Orders No. 1, January 4, 1945
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on 5 June 1944, when he led a Heavy Bombardment Group, in an attack against defended enemy coastal positions in the vicinity of Wimereaux, France. Approaching the target, his aircraft was hit repeatedly by antiaircraft fire which seriously crippled the ship, killed the pilot, and wounded several members of the crew, including Lt. Col. Vance, whose right foot was practically severed. In spite of his injury, and with 3 engines lost to the flak, he led his formation over the target, bombing it successfully. After applying a tourniquet to his leg with the aid of the radar operator, Lt. Col. Vance, realizing that the ship was approaching a stall altitude with the 1 remaining engine failing, struggled to a semi-upright position beside the copilot and took over control of the ship. Cutting the power and feathering the last engine he put the aircraft in glide sufficiently steep to maintain his airspeed. Gradually losing altitude, he at last reached the English coast, whereupon he ordered all members of the crew to bail out as he knew they would all safely make land. But he received a message over the interphone system which led him to believe 1 of the crewmembers was unable to jump due to injuries; so he made the decision to ditch the ship in the channel, thereby giving this man a chance for life. To add further to the danger of ditching the ship in his crippled condition, there was a 500-pound bomb hung up in the bomb bay. Unable to climb into the seat vacated by the copilot, since his foot, hanging on to his leg by a few tendons, had become lodged behind the copilot's seat, he nevertheless made a successful ditching while lying on the floor using only aileron and elevators for control and the side window of the cockpit for visual reference. On coming to rest in the water the aircraft commenced to sink rapidly with Lt. Col. Vance pinned in the cockpit by the upper turret which had crashed in during the landing. As it was settling beneath the waves an explosion occurred which threw Lt. Col. Vance clear of the wreckage. After clinging to a piece of floating wreckage until he could muster enough strength to inflate his life vest he began searching for the crewmember whom he believed to be aboard. Failing to find anyone he began swimming and was found approximately 50 minutes later by an Air-Sea Rescue craft. By his extraordinary flying skill and gallant leadership, despite his grave injury, Lt. Col. Vance led his formation to a successful bombing of the assigned target and returned the crew to a point where they could bail out with safety. His gallant and valorous decision to ditch the aircraft in order to give the crewmember he believed to be aboard a chance for life exemplifies the highest traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Other honors
The airbase in his hometown of Enid, Oklahoma, was re-named Vance Air Force BaseVance Air Force Base
Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located 6 km south of downtown Enid, Oklahoma, and within its city limits, about north northwest of Oklahoma City...
in his honor on July 9, 1949. He was further honored when Gate 40 of Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:...
, Oklahoma, was renamed "Vance Gate" on May 9, 1997.