With the Help of the USO, a Fallen Hero Receives the Dignified Transfer He Deserves After Nearly 80 Years

By Sgt. 1st Class Ariana Shuemake

On July 31, 2024, U.S. Army Pfc. Mose E. Vance, of Bradshaw, West Virginia, returned home decades after he was killed during World War II. Vance was 21 at the time of his death in 1945.

During a dignified transfer, the remains of Vance were released to his closest living relative and next-of-kin. For the past several decades, Vance had been interred at the U.S. Military Cemetery at St. Avold, France, known today as Lorraine American Cemetery. Following his return to the United States, and thanks to the efforts of his living relatives, Vance’s final resting place is now at the Vance Cemetery in Paynesville, West Virginia.

Vance’s Road to a Dignified Transfer

The journey to Vance’s dignified transfer had been a long time coming, and began with his family’s years-long efforts of identification, accountability and return of his remains home.

Oakley Ferrell Vance, or “Ferrell” as he calls himself, Vance’s closest living relative, recalls starting the project with his brother.

“Well, about five or six years ago, me and my brother actually started talking about the whole family, how we used to hear her grandmother (Ferrell’s great-grandmother) and my grandmother talking about Uncle Mose,” Ferrell said. “And she never would accept that he got killed in service. She always thought that he was missing and would someday be found or had amnesia. She just never would accept it, and I guess getting older and my brother and I started talking about it. I said, ‘let’s try to find him.’”

Throughout the next several years, Ferrell, to fill his time after retirement, “kept digging,” which led him to get in touch with a volunteer organization in France that was sponsoring Vance.

“I got in contact with [them] and after a couple years of searching … they gave me a lot of information … they traced it to where they had his remains and they did some DNA testing and got a positive hit,” Ferrell recalled.

Once Vance was positively identified based on the DNA analysis results, Jim Bell, a U.S. Army identification specialist working for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), stepped in.

“I notify the family of the identification. I get a casualty assistance officer (CAO) assigned and then I brief the family on the loss [and]recovery of the soldier and how the soldier was identified,” Jim stated.

After submitting the request for a CAO, Jim was matched with Sgt. 1st Class Miranda Green, a medical readiness noncommissioned officer assigned to the West Virginia Army National Guard. As the CAO, Miranda would be responsible for assisting the family through the dignified transfer process, including advising and assisting the primary next of kin, arranging visits and scheduling follow-up visits

“My role as a CAO is to provide assistance and support to the [next-of-kin]. I mostly serve as a liaison between DPAA, Fort Knox CAC and the family,” said Miranda.

“The most rewarding part is being able to provide closure to the family, and ensuring Vance has an appropriate resting place alongside his family members in West Virginia,” Miranda said. “Vance gave his life as the ultimate sacrifice to our country. He was killed in January 1945 in France, and it has taken us nearly 80 years to identify him, bring him back home and finally honor the sacrifices he and his family made. I’m honored to play such a small role to honor a true American hero.”

With Jim and Miranda on board, Ferrell remained at ease throughout much of the dignified transfer process, as they handled the logistical aspects of Vance’s transfer.

“Once we did find [Vance], Jim Bell got in touch with me and started working through Miranda, and they started coordinating everything for us,” Ferrell said. “And all of them took over from [there], I more or less stayed in touch and followed directions.”

Miranda’s role as the liaison also provided her with a unique opportunity.

“I have worked as the go-between and helped the family throughout the identification briefing. I had the honor of presenting the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medals to Ferrell,” Miranda said.

“Jim Bell did a presentation for me,” Ferrell said, recalling the identification briefing. “[Miranda] walked me through that, then at the end of it she surprised me and brought out a bag and it had all of Mose’s medals in it. I broke down in tears.”

After the identification briefing was completed, Jim and Miranda assisted Ferrell in doing the paperwork to plan the transport of the remains, as well as the funeral for Vance.

“Once the family makes their funeral decision, I work with the various agencies to get the remains to the funeral site,” said Jim. “I also track and assist in coordinating the case with the CAO and Casualty Assistance Center to ensure the arrival of the remains, funeral honors, etc. …all take place as planned.”

“After that, it’s just been getting [Vance] back, and it’s been a journey,” Ferrell said.

The process of transporting the remains of a deceased U.S. military member is referred to as a dignified transfer. A dignified transfer is conducted for every U.S. military member who dies in the theater of operation while in the service of their country. And Vance is no different.

“This case is important to me because, as a fellow service member, I value the ethos of ‘I will never leave a fallen comrade.’” Miranda said.

“Although this case is nearly 80 years old, there are so many agencies working relentlessly to ensure we stay true to that Warrior Ethos. The dignified transport was a multifaceted event that included the family, Memorial Funeral Directory Inc., Fort Liberty Military Honors Team, American Airlines, Fort Knox Casualty Assistance Center and the USO Honors Support Team at Charlotte International Airport.”

How the USO Plays a Role in Dignified Transfers Like Vance’s

The USO stands steadfast in support of our nation’s military families throughout every step of their time in service – and especially in times of great sorrow. Despite Ferrell’s case being nearly 80 years old, the USO treated this dignified transfer with the same level of respect, and meticulously planned for the arrival of Vance’s body at Charlotte International Airport.

The USO Charlotte Honors Support Team helps grieving families, also known as Gold Star Families, throughout the process of ensuring a service member’s dignified transfer. The loss of a loved one and the process of a dignified transfer can be incredibly difficult and emotional. As families mourn, the USO team aims to alleviate many of the logistical hurdles so that families and friends may properly grieve and honor their fallen hero. This can include everything from ensuring that the families make their connecting flights via our USO airport lounges, to babysitting children to give the military spouse a chance to rest, to providing the family with a hot meal.

“We facilitate, coordinate and orchestrate as needed to ensure that Fallen Active Duty Warriors [of any military service] and Repatriated Warriors from any war … have a dignified transfer,” said Mr. Greg Smith, the Charlotte USO Honor Support co-lead.

Throughout the process of their hero returning stateside, the USO team aims to alleviate many of the stressors by offering the family a quiet, private space that provides free refreshments, free Wi-Fi, computer and telephone access and a comfortable place to sit so that loved ones may properly grieve and honor their fallen hero. No matter what the hour or the need, the USO is there for the families of the fallen.

For Vance’s family, who had already spent the last several years working tirelessly to find and bring their loved one home, the USO was happy to provide this level of support during the final step of Vance’s dignified transfer.

“I didn’t expect all this, you know,” Ferrell said. “I thought I would just meet the plane, get him home and have our service, and that’s it. So it’s grown a lot more than I was expecting, [it’s] special to find out that a lot more people care.”

“They had a Chaplin available. I was surprised to find out the teams were all volunteers,” Miranda said. “You could tell they wanted to do anything they could to support the family and to honor the return of Vance. They were all amazing people with gracious hearts.”

The USO also provides support for the service members responsible for carrying out the dignified transfer. As part of the process, an Honor Guard of the fallen service member’s branch is always in attendance, as well as senior ranking military officials, military mortuary staff and others. Undertaking such a solemn mission can obviously take its toll on service members as well, many of whom have also travel to the airport. The USO offers support to them too, providing them with a quiet place to relax, meals or even a hot cup of coffee on a cold night – as dignified transfers of modern-day casualties can happen at any time of day, in any weather.

After Vance was respectfully laid to rest at Vance Cemetery, Ferrell continued to show his appreciation for all of the efforts involved in making sure his late relative received the dignified transfer he longed deserved.

“[It’s] very emotional, and I’m kind of an emotional person – I wear my feelings on my sleeves, whether I feel good or bad,” said Ferrell. “You think it’s not real sometimes. And I used to watch World War II movies all the time … they’d shot a lot of video footage and I’d watch all of it hoping I could see him, and I never did.”

Although Ferrell never saw video footage of his fallen relative in those hours of World War II footage, the one thing he did get to witness was Vance’s final trip back home – and the USO was by his family’s side to support and honor him.

-This story was originally published on DVIDShub.net. It has been edited and expanded upon for USO.org.