Jay Rockefeller: “we received confirmation yesterday that Sergeant Gene Vance of Morgantown, West Virginia, was killed on Sunday in an…”

“we received confirmation yesterday that Sergeant Gene Vance of Morgantown, West Virginia, was killed on Sunday in an exchange of gunfire near the village of Shkin, near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. Sergeant Vance was a member of the 19th Special Forces Group of the West Virginia National Guard. His unit was patrolling southeastern Afghanistan in an effort to locate and eliminate any pockets of al Qa'eda and Taliban resistance. Sergeant Vance was the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan since March. On behalf of all the Member of the Senate--I believe I can so speak-- I want to express to Sergeant Vance's wife, Lisa, and daughter, Amber, our deepest sympathy at their loss and ours. I extend those condolences to other members of Sergeant Vance's family who must be going through the kind of grief to which some people have become accustomed, but not many. He was a member of the West Virginia National Guard. I had the honor to be Governor of West Virginia for 8 years. I know it just so happens that the West Virginia National Guard has top rankings all across the country in all respects--professionally audited, so to speak. There is no stronger embodiment of the patriotism that runs so deep in the mountains of my State of West Virginia.”