Nicholas Sparks, “Dear John” is the story of a romance between a soldier at war and the love he leaves behind. Vance, 28 is Sparks’ cousin.
“I didn’t hear about it until my grandma handed me the book, and said look at this. I read it and within the first couple pages I was like, that’s me,” Vance said.
Vance was a squad leader in Iraq during a 13 month deployment. “Our job was to do raids at night. Find high value targets, and conduct ambushes and patrols,” the Army Staff Sergeant explained.
In the book the “John” is fighting to return to his girl at home, Vance said his story is similar. “Guy falls in love, but the girl I was seeing was loyal. She stuck with me through the deployment,” he said with a smile.
The pair split when he returned from the war zone. “I was a mess when I got back, and that was too much for her,” he said.
Vance, like countless war veterans was struggling with post traumatic stress disorder. “The substance abuse kicked up, and my anger kicked up,” he explained.
He sought treatment at the VA, through counseling. “It’s always gonna be haunting you. But through therapy you learn to calm down,” Vance said.
Vance is currently a mixed martial arts instructor at Undisputed Fitness in North Park. He is working towards a degree, hoping to be a social worker. Ultimately, he would like to spend time helping war veterans home from combat.
