- Date Of Birth: September 28, 1929
- Date Of Death: December 27, 2012
- State: California
SERGEANT MAJOR WILLIAM “MOVIN” VANN… (USMC Retired), Gold Medal Recipient, died December 27, 2012 at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California. He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina to Clara Vann and William Hansley. He attended East Wilmington Elementary School. In the eighth grade, while watching German prisoners play soccer across the street from Williston, he decided to skip high school and join the military. He enlisted into the Marine Corps on September 7, 1946. Vann went through boot camp at Montford Point, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, (The recruit training site set up to train African American Marines between 1942 and 1949).
After a nine month tour in Korea, Vann was reassigned to Kobe, Japan and subsequently assigned duty at Camp Pendleton, California. After a brief tour at Pendleton he was again transferred to Korea as ordinance advisor for the Korean Marine Corps. He participated in eight of the ten major campaigns in Korea, and after a sixteen month stretch he returned to Camp Lejeune.
Vann distinguised himself as a long-distance and competative runner, earning the name “Moving Vann”. Between 1971 and 1976 he logged over 15,000 miles, building endurance up to 30 and 40 mile runs. Using his running as a bridge to local communities, he raised thousands of dollars for charities.
After retiring from the Marine Corps, Vann graduated from high school and earned triple Associate of Arts Degrees while working for the State of California. He was a Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Repesentative. He developed a reputation as one of the best job developers and job placement representatives in the San Diego area. During that time, he served on various Veteran Affairs Committees for local Congressmen. In 1987, he was selected to appear before the California State Assembly to receive the 10 year proclamation for the program.
the Mid City Citizen’s Advisory Council; San Diego Community College District; Vietnam Veterans Counseling Center; Vietnam Veterans of San Diego; Veteran’s Administration Regional Office; Department of Veteran Affairs; and the Department of Labor.
One of the honors of which he was most proud, was serving as Reviewing Officer at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot / Western Region in 1995. Vann has been honored as Veteran of the Year by three different Organizations. He served as one of the Grand Marshals for the Veteran’s Day Parade.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Willette, both of his parents and his sister, Rebecca Everette.
On Thursday, December 27, 2012, William Vann was called from labor to eternal rest. He is survived by his devoted and loving wife of fifty-six years, Evangeline Vann of San Diego, California “son”, CWO5 Larry Campbell (Melinda) of Murrieta, California; sister-in-law, Mary E.
