A History of a US Pilot of Serbian Origin

A History of a US Pilot of Serbian Origin Nikoleta Ilić This is a study of the life and heroic death of an American pilot of Serbian origin. This work is based on interviews with several people conducted by the author. Soon after the author's arrival in the US in 1982, an artist, Simonida Perica Uth, brought to her attention the story of Lance Šijan. Mrs. Uth had an article which ultimately served as the inspiration in trying to find somebody who knew Lance's life history. One such person was David Vuich, chairman of the board of the international corporation CUBE. He tried to help the author find the names of people who knew Lance. However, it was not an easy task to locate somebody who could provide the relevant information necessary to make the broadcast, which would eventually air on TV in the show "Open Studio" of Serbian Service, Voice of America. In 2016, Vuich was able to identify two people who knew Lance Šijan and his life story directly. An interview was scheduled with one of them, but, unfortunately, that person tragically died in a house fire. It was a stunning setback in the research on this subject. As the time passed, it seemed that Lance's story would never be recorded and brought to life. However, Vuich provided another name. It was that of Guy Gruters, a former Vietnam POW. When called he answered the phone, and there ensued a very informative conversation about Lance Šijan. As luck would have it, Gruters informed the author that he would be coming to Washington, DC, in the near future. The date and time for the interview were scheduled, but unfortunately, it had to be postponed due a terrible snowstorm in DC. Finally, a month later, the interview happened, and Gruters talked about his sufferings in Vietnam and about the death of Lance Šijan. Gruters told the author about Šijan's sister, Jeanine Šijan Rozina. When contacted, she indicated that she would be coming to the Pentagon for the award ceremony named after her brother. What proceeded afterward was a series of conversations with the US Air Force General Steven Wilson, Jeanine Šijan Rozina, and former Vietnam POW and colleague [End Page 263] of Lance, Guy Gruters. All of them provided valuable information about the subject of this study (figure 1). Lance (Lazar) Peter Šijan, the first child of Sylvester and Jane Šijan, was born on April 13, 1942, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father, Sylvester, was an ethnic Serb who was a restaurateur. During World War I, Lance's grandparents emigrated to the US from Serbia. His mother, Jane, was of American-Irish descent. After his high school graduation in 1960, he attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School at the US Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, Maryland. He completed that program and received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The fact that he played football for three years at the academy was proof of his splendid physical strength, which is further demonstrated during his ordeal in Vietnam. The last year of his studies at the academy he dedicated to his academic work. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in humanities in 1965, and then he was awarded a second lieutenant's commission and began Undergraduate Pilot Training. After the pilot training was completed, he was assigned to the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Wing, stationed in Da Nang Air Base in an F4 Phantom plane (figure 2). It is a well-known fact how terrible the Vietnam War was and how tragic its circumstances were for the military and civilians on both sides of the conflict. Such horrors are specifically documented through the case of Lance Šijan. In July 2017, during the award ceremony in the Pentagon, Jeanine Šijan Rozina provided the following information about Lance's life: The story of my brother Lance Šijan is well-known. Most specifically it involves, from the Air Force point of view, the service in the last three months of his life. While in the Air Force T over Laos, in a night mission, his plane exploded and he survived the...