Funeral to be held Saturday for West Virginia soldier who died during World War II (2024)

bradshaw – A World War II soldier who called West Virginia home and made the ultimate sacrifice for his country will be laid to rest Aug 10 in his home state after waiting unidentified for years at the U.S. Military Cemetery in France.

The remains of U.S. Army Pfc. Mose E. Vance, a soldier killed during World War II, will be interred Aug. 10 at Vance Cemetery near Paynesville, a McDowell County community. The Memorial Funeral Directory Inc., in Princeton will perform graveside services preceding the interment.

A native of Bradshaw in McDowell County, Vance was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division in the European Theater. He was killed in action Jan. 11, 1945, at age 21, after German forces launched a major offensive operation, Dec. 31, 1944, in the Vosges Mountains in Alsace-Lorraine, France, known as Operation NORDWIND.

This offensive was launched after another German offense, dubbed Operation Watch on the Rhine, became the Battle of the Bulge.

Vance was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Jan. 5 this year after his remains were exhumed on August 2022 from the U.S. Military Cemetery at St. Avold, France, known today as Lorraine American Cemetery.

The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, under the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Ky, plays a key role in the process of locating family members of missing soldiers from World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The process begins with locating the family member most closely related to the missing soldier, known as the primary next of kin, followed by a request for family reference samples or DNA, which are used as a main source in identifying remains.

Once a soldier has been identified by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, the PCRB notifies and briefs the family about the results of historical, forensic and DNA reports, benefits and the mortuary process including burial with full military honors.

PFC Vance’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery in Dinozé, France, along with others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Contact Greg Jordan at

gjordan@bdtonline.com

'; var element = document.getElementById("sub_message"); element.appendChild(subMessage); console.log("Code Loaded!"); } else { var subMessage = document.createElement('div'); subMessage.id = 'sub-message-top'; subMessage.class = 'panel panel-default'; subMessage.style.backgroundColor = '#eee'; subMessage.style.borderRadius = '5px'; subMessage.style.padding = '10px'; subMessage.style.marginTop = '25px'; subMessage.style.marginBottom = '25px'; subMessage.innerHTML = '

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com