GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- March 4, 1976, Capt. Lance Sijan was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, presented to his family by President Gerald Ford. Many know the story of Lance and his determination in the face of the Vietnamese jungle and an enemy compound, but his sister Janine Sijan shared even more of his story at the base theater here on Oct. 24.
“A goal of mine has been to paint a broader brush stroke so that people can get a better look at who Lance was through his entire life,” said Janine. “Those years all the way up to Nov. 9, 1967, when his aircraft went down, were years that we didn’t know a lot about. It was my objective to get that information out to the public.”
By sharing more of Lance’s life before joining the Air Force, Janine provided more facets of his life for people to relate to. People can look up to a hero, but people can relate to a person.
“When I learned about this I felt that personal connection to his story,” said Daniel Soquet, 316th Training Squadron student. “I lived about 20 minutes from Milwaukee, which is where he lived. It was a really cool movie and it’s impressive how he was able to inspire people even after his death.”
Lance’s life shows us how determination and resiliency can help a regular person face great challenges and always stand back up.
“When we think about those times of challenge or those extreme times of feeling hopeless, what will you do to pull yourself back up?” said Janine.