Second Lt. Donald Vance

A Lehigh Acres man, who graduated from Lehigh Senior High School in 2003 and who was active in the Jr. ROTC program, says he finds the Iraqis he is working with “good and decent people.”

Second Lt. Donald Vance, 23, is stationed in Bagdad. He spoke to The Citizen by phone the other day. His exact location in Bagdad was not given for security reasons.

“I am enjoying working with the Iraqis. We are involved in helping them rebuild their infrastructure. We’re doing things like planting trees, developing parks and working on some developments,” Vance said. He is involved in collecting intelligence but he did not elaborate.

Vance joined the U.S. Army after he graduated from the University of Florida in Tampa where he received a bachelor of arts degree in social science. He went to college on a ROTC scholarship. Then in 2007, he signed up for four years with Uncle Sam, knowing he would likely end up in Iraq.

His parents, Donald B. Vance and his wife, Ae, have moved from Lehigh to Louisiana. In Lehigh, his father sold real estate.

Second Lt. Donald Vance of Lehigh Acres is shown on patrol in Bagdad while a young Iraqi child looks on. Vance said the children enjoy being given candy by American soldiers. Photo by Staff Sgt. Alejandro Licea

But he still has a lot of family and it’s a close family living in Lehigh. His grandparents are Bill and Monna Jo Vance.

“I keep in touch with them at least once a month on the phone and I use email back and forth to my parents and two other guys I went to school with who are also in the military,” Vance said.

He comes from a military family, so wearing the American uniform and fighting for his country is sort of a family tradition.

“My older sister is in the Air Force and stationed in Alaska. My dad was in the Army for 20 years and my grandfather served in World War II in the Navy,” he said proudly.

Vance also has uncles in Lehigh. They are Ronald Vance, a twin brother of his father, and William Vance Sr. He also has an aunt, Jennifer Vance, of Lehigh.

Vance said he serves in a combat unit as a fire support officer for an airborne company and he carries an M-4 weapon with him all the time. The weapon is smaller than the old M-16 that most veterans remember in past wars.

“I enjoy what we are doing … helping to build infrastructure … these people are very good people and they appreciate what America is doing. We are also being protected by the Iraqi Security Forces and they’re doing a good job,” he said.

Vance and the men in his squad spend much of their time on patrol and the Iraqi children have become special to the soldiers.

“They know we are going to have candy in our pockets and we take it with us to give to them. Those kids really love candy,” he laughed.

This is where his grandmother comes in.

“I send him candy and a lot of snacks. I know he gives the candy to the children,” said Monna Jo Vance.

“We just talked to him this past Sunday and he said he had talked to The Citizen,” his grandmother said.

Back to Iraq.

“I can tell you that the Iraqis that I come in contact with want a better country and they know what America is doing and the country’s sacrifices,” Vance said.

He also knows that he and his unit could be deployed to Afghanistan anytime because of the winding down of the war in Iraq. President Barack Obama has vowed to put more troops in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and insurgents.

“He is our commander-in-chief. We take our orders from him. If I am deployed to Afghanistan, that is where I will go,” Vance said.

He said he voted in the November election but wouldn’t say who he voted for.

He said the American troops in Iraq appreciate the support of the people in the United States.

“That’s very important to us,” he said, noting that it keeps morale up in Iraq.

His enlistment is up in November of this year. But he’s not sure if he will re-enlist or not. But when pressed, he said right now, today, he probably would re-enlist even if that meant going to Afghanistan.

He saves his money and if he re-enlists, there’s always an attractive bonus.

Vance says he spends his time off looking at DVD movies on his TV and being on his computer emailing his friends and family members.

“But we are pretty much on duty 24/7 and that means shifts for us,” Vance said.

The call was made at 11 a.m., Lehigh time. It was 7 p.m., that evening, eight hours ahead and Vance had some time off.

He said many soldiers were able to see the Inauguration of Obama but he was not able to watch because he was on patrol at the time.

“I do feel safe here but I keep my weapon with me at all times.

“I’m proud to be an American soldier. I try to keep up with what is going on in Lehigh Acres through my grandparents. They have told me the Spring Festival is coming up next month,” he said.

It wasn’t that many years ago that Vance marched in the Spring Festival Parade with his Junior ROTC unit at Lehigh Senior High School. It has become a tradition for those who are ROTC members to march in uniform in the parade.

When asked what he would like to receive from home, he was quick to answer.

“My grandmother’s cookies. She has promised to send them to me, but I haven’t gotten them yet,” he laughed. “I also miss the good cooking at home.”

“The food here is all right, but it’s not like good home cooked meals,” he laughed.

When he talks to his grandparents, he says his grandmother always wants to know if he’s “eating good.”

“She’s interested that the food is good over here,” he laughed.

His grandmother said she is getting ready to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

“They’re his favorite … I’ve got to get them mailed over to him before this story comes out,” she laughed. “I know he will see it on the Internet. (Lehighacrescitizen.com).

From Iraq, Vance described the weather as similar to that of Lehigh.

“We have the palms over here and the vegetation is much like in Lehigh, but it may be a little warmer. Today is around 80,” he said.

His grandmother said Vance is also very close to his mom and dad and keeps in touch with them whenever he has the time.

“We look forward to hearing from him. I just sent the candy over and I got to get going here with these cookies,” his grandmother laughed.

“He is a good young man and we are very proud of him,” she said.