Faces Bio

James E. Vause was born on February 6, 1944.  His home of record is Wenonah, NJ. 

He entered the US Army and attained the rank of Specialist 4 (SP4).

Vause was killed in action on July 2, 1966.  Vause was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in a ceremony at Fort Dix, NJ.

Jim

February 6, 1944 - July 2, 1966
PFC, Army        Wenonah, NJ

The prayer that James Vause wrote and sent home preceded his death by a few weeks.  He already had earned a Silver Star and was determined to help the people of South Vietnam gain their freedom.  In one of his letters, he makes it even clearer.

In the States, you read about the war going on in Vietnam and say why doesn't the United States pull out of there?  Well, I've said the same thing, I guess, but I'd stay here by myself if I could help them.

Jimmy was the slightly built, blond-haired, blue-eyed little brother to Don Vause, of Collingswood, NJ.  Don remembers the letters indicating a true concern for the Vietnamese people.  He also remembers the quiet demeanor, the quick, dry wit and Jimmy's popularity.

"Jim liked cars, girls, and life in general," he says.  "He like to swim and to be with the guys.  He had a very large group of friends."

Jimmy graduated from Camden County Vocational School in 1962.  He was interested in photography, but after graduation, found work as a paint shader before entering the service.  His family lived in the Oak Valley section of Wenonah, NJ.  His mother, Kathleen Afflerbach, was an extraordinary woman.  She was a welder with the New York Ship Building Corporation during World War II, and later became a china painter and an artist.  When Don and Jimmy were quite young, their parents divorced.  Eventually, their mother married Alfred Afflerbach, who became a real father to the boys.  Alfred and Kathleen had two more children and the whole family prospered in the stability, love and compassion of their parents.  Alfred died in 1987 and Kathleen in 1994.

"Jim was a Christian," Don says.  "And a good worker.  I really don't know why he went into the service.  Possibly, because it was what young men did who weren't going to college and didn't want to enter the service by way of the draft."

"I believe he liked the Army," he continues.  "He was scheduled to go to jump school.  Instead they sent him to Vietnam."

After basic training, Jimmy was trained as a machine gunner and arrived in Vietnam on May 13, 1965.  He was eventually assigned to A Company, 1^st Battalion, 18^th Infantry, 1^st Infantry Division.  Originally, he was a helicopter door gunner but transferred to an infantry unit after several months.  He was awarded the Silver Star for saving a buddy's life in December of 1965 when his unit was ambushed and cut off from help.

The war was heating up in late 1965 and into 1966.  The 1^st Infantry Division focused on the 9^th Viet Cong Division in Binh Long Province, about fifty miles north of Saigon, in an area bordering Cambodia. 

The military gave names to major operations and the 1^st Battalion, 18^th Infantry became a part of Operation El Paso II when it was launched on June 2, 1966.  On July 2, Jimmy's company was on a search-and-destroy mission when a firefight with the Viet Cong broke out.  Almost two months after his one-year tour in Vietnam was supposed to have ended, Jimmy was killed in another ambush.  His body was returned home and he was buried with full military honors in Beverly National Cemetery.

For a WoodburyTimes article dated July 6, Jimmy's parents shared a letter he had written in addition to the prayer.  It read in part:

I've seen everything.  I helped them unload the wounded from the helicopters into the ambulance.  We unloaded I don't know how many dead.  Some had their faces blown off; others had arms and legs blown off.  There was every kind of wound you could think of.  There was nothing but blood all over the place.  It was the worst sight I have ever seen.  I saw just about every injury you could get in combat and believe me, it was enough to make anyone sick.  I don't know how I stood it.  The only thing I was worried about was getting the injured to the hospital.

In the same story, Kathleen is quoted as saying, "He was home a year ago on Mother's Day.  He should have been out by now, but they lost his records when he transferred from helicopters to infantry because he felt he could do more.  He saw so many of his buddies being killed while he was a gunner on the helicopter.  He couldn't take it."

"He should have been in the States," Don Vause adds.  "The government lost his papers.  Near the end of his tour, he had indicated that he was considering re-enlistment.  But then, he was also talking about how bad he was shaking, and that he might need to get medical help when he came home."

"I have accepted Jim's death as God's will," says Vause.  "I believe Jim thought he was doing the right thing in Vietnam.  It was not an easy time, but I believe 'nothing by accident, everything by providence.'  I feel the same now, as then, regarding our government's responsibility for the political war that they engineered.  I do not believe in a war with lines drawn that can't be crossed, or a war that is waged based on popularity polls.  I don't believe young men, including Jim, should be asked to fight in a war that politicians didn't want to win.  There is so much more to be said on this issue but let it be known that God Himself will hold those who were responsible as accountable.  I guarantee it."

"I loved Jimmy and miss him very much," his big brother continues.  "I believe he is now with the Lord and that one day we will meet again.  But it is not my nature to dwell in the past.  I don't expect to see him in a mall or pick up the phone and then remember that I can't call him.  He did his best to serve a country and a people that didn't care or appreciate him.  Let the Silver Star and the U.S. flag draped over his coffin say all that needs to be said."

Excerpt from They Were Ours: Gloucester County's Loss in Vietnam by John Campbell
Used with permission of author

Sources: John Campbell and NJVVMF.