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 Vance Troy Coats
Pvt. 2 Vance Troy Coats, 18, 128 14th Ave. S., died Wednesday in Panama as a result of wounds received in fighting there.
Funeral services will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Hillcrest Mausoleum Memorial Chapel. Military honors will be accorded at Highland Cemetery.
Arrangements are with The Chapel of the Chimes Funeral Home.
Born Jan. 27, 1971, in Wilmington, N.C., he moved to Great Falls with his family at the age of 1 and attended
area schools. He received his G.E.D. while serving in the Army.
He enlisted when he was 17 and was stationed at Fort Cobb, Panama, with Company C of the First Airborne 1-508. He was serving in the Panama conflict at the time of his death.
Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Darla Kay Stone and James Stone of Great Falls; his father, Vance V. Coats of Panama City, Fla.; sister, Megan of Great Falls; brothers, James and Christopher of Great Falls and Benjamin of Panama City, Fla.; grandparents, Alee Moore of Great Falls, John and Rosalyn Rae of Great Falls, and Mr. and Mrs. Vance Coats of
Dearborn, Mich. [Great Falls Tribune, Great Falls, MT, 25 Dec 1989, Mon, Page 10] |
 A
color guard from Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts 1087 and 5590 carry the
casket of Pvt. 2 Vance Troy Coats upon its arrival at Great Falls
International Airport Christmas morning,
Casualty returned to Great Falls
By ERIK ZISSU Tribune Staff Writer
Flag-draped and accompanied by a soldier
from the 82nd Airborne Division, the coffin of Pvt. 2 Vance Troy Coats
arrived in Great Falls Christmas morning.
"It's no fun getting your brother back on Christmas," James Coats
said as his family awaited the arrival of a United Airlines flight from
Dover, Del. A gift the 18-year-old soldier sent to his family last
week from Panama was to be opened later in the day, in the privacy of
the family's home, Coats said.
James Stone, Coats' stepfather, said the family learned Sunday when
the Army planned to fly Coats to the Great Falls International Airport.
"The sooner the better," Stone said. "We wanted him home."
A small color guard from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts 1087 and 5590 stood by as the jet taxied toward the gate shortly after 11 a.m. No Army Reserve or active-unit color guard could be summoned in time due to the holiday, explained Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Don Satchwell, who was in charge of arrangements at the airport. |
There will, however, be a color guard from Fort Lewis, Wash., on hand Thursday at 2 p.m. for the funeral of Coats at the Chapel of the Chimes Funeral Home. Malmstrom Air Force Base will conduct a fly-by Thursday as well, he said.
Coats was stationed at Fort Cobb, Panama, and died Wednesday during the first day of the U.S. invasion of Panama City. Relatives have not been told how he died.
As a chilly wind whipped through the small assembly of friends and relatives gathered near a side gate at the airport, the wooden coffin was brought first to the main terminal where it was taken from its cardboard covering. It was then pulled by a luggage vehicle to the gate.
A representative from Coats' division, wearing a red beret and dress uniform tucked into his shiny jump boots, watched several pallbearers lift the coffin and march through the color guard comprised of veterans from wars long past, A few . reservists . and others raised their hands in salute as the pallbearers passed. Tears streamed down the faces of family members. Someone in the group sang "Oh Holy Night," the thin voice straining in the wind.
Coats' mother, Darla Stone, moved close as the coffin was loaded into the waiting hearse. Before the rear door closed, she leaned in with her family and they all laid their hands on the crisp new flag.
[Great Falls Tribune, Great Falls, MT, 26 Dec 1989, Tue, Page 1] |
