First Lieutenant James R. Vance

Jet Crash Kills Lt. James Vance
Marine First Lieutenant James R. Vance, son of Mrs. Champ S. Vance and the late Mr. Vance of 525 Brooks Circle, Griffin, was killed Thursday, July 23rd, when the plane he was piloting crashed at Homestead AFB, Florida.
The young pilot, 25, member of a prominent Griffin family, was the nephew of Mrs. H. M. Fletcher, of 572 East Third Street, Jackson. Mrs. Vance, the former Miss Ruby Bolton, is a sister of Mrs. Fletcher the former Miss Julia Bolton.
Lt. Dennis K. Hagaman, the radar interceptor officer, was also killed in the crash. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Virgil E. Hagaman of Amarillo, Texas.
According to Marine officials the F4B Phantom jet aircraft was in a landing pattern at the time of the mishap. The two occupants attempted to eject but the plane was too low. The crash occurred at 2:05 p. m. and an investigation is underway to determine the cause.
Lt. Vance was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S. C. He entered the Marines in February, 1968.
Lt. Vance was a 1962 graduate of Griffin High School where he was an outstanding student and president of the Key Club. He was an Eagle Scout and earned the God and Country Award. He was a member of the First Baptist Church. Lt. Vance received an engineering degree from Georgia Tech in 1967. He was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.
Funeral services for Lt. Vance were held Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock at the First Baptist Church with full military honors. The Rev. Bruce Morgan officiated with burial in Oak Hill Cemetery. Pittman-Rawls Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Lt. Vance is survived by his mother, Mrs. Champ S. Vance; his wife, the former Miss Pamela Tompkins of Virginia Beach, Virginia; a daughter, Sally Vance, ** months old; a sister, Mrs. Howard Leavy, St. Simons Island; a brother, Champ Shepard Vance, Jr., a student at the University of Georgia.
As a tragic sequel to the death of Lt. Vance, an aunt, Mrs. James B. Vance of Abingdon, Va., was killed in a traffic accident Friday while enroute with her husband to Griffin to attend the funeral of her nephew. The two car collision occurred near Hickory, N. C. late Friday afternoon.
Mrs. Vance died in the emergency room of the hospital of multiple injuries and shock. Mr. Vance, sole surviving brother of the late Champ S. Vance of Griffin was listed in fair condition in the intensive care unit of Catawba General Hospital in Hickory. He suffered chest injuries.

(Jackson Progress Argus - 1970)

Submitted by V. S. Harrison