SEYMOUR, TN, US
U.S. Army
SSG, HOWITZER BATTERY, 3D SQD, 278TH ARMOR (TF LIBERTY), SPARTA, TN
08/22/2005, 332D EMDG/BALAD, IRAQ
Staff Sergeant Victoir P. Lieurance never particularly liked having his picture taken, but his wife is glad that she finally managed to convince him last year to sit for some professional photos with the family. Looking at those pictures a day after learning her husband had been killed in Iraq, Penny Lieurance’s voice cracked as she remembered telling her husband, “I want the boys to have pictures of their daddy.” Staff Sergeant Lieurance’s sons are Chase and Damien. He was also a father to Penny’s daughters Alina and Ciera.
Staff Sergeant Lieurance was born on December 6, 1970. Vic Lieurance wanted to be a soldier from the time he was a boy. As a child he kept a treasure chest of discarded military equipment that he had collected near his boy hood home in Fort Lewis, WA. Staff Sergeant Lieurance joined the Army after he graduated from high school in Carter, GA. He served seven years in the Army before joining the National Guard in 1997.
“He was the most proud when he was in his military uniform,” exclaimed his father, Andre Lieurance. “When he first signed up, he wanted to go for the full 20 years, but we had to talk him into four. He knew the military, he knew what was involved with it _ the separation, the risks.”
His father, Andre Lieurance, served 26 exemplary years in the US Navy and his mother, Karen Lieurance, is a 20 year veteran of the US Navy; his sister, Jonette Demange, served her country for 8 years in the US Army. The General Assembly of the State of Tennessee in 2006 proposed a resolution honoring Staff Sergeant Lieurance’s service and valor. The following summarizes this kind piece of legislation.
“Staff Sergeant Lieurance truly loved the Army and took great pride in the important role he played in the defense of our nation. Staff Sergeant Lieurance is a courageous veteran of the Gulf War. After completing his tour of duty in Kuwait, he joined the Reserves and moved to Seymour, where he came to treasure life in this community. In civilian life, Vic Lieurance was a valued employee of the US Postal Service. In 2005, Staff Sergeant Lieurance unhesitatingly answered the call to duty, and deployed to Iraq believing in the justice of the cause to protect our nation, our liberty, and to free the people of Iraqi. Staff Sergeant Lieurance gave his life for his country and for our freedom. As a member of the Tennessee National Guard, he proudly continued an essential tradition of American society: the concept of the citizen-soldier exemplified all that is good, and noble in a human being.”