He didn't fight a single day. Why did he change his name? Who is he hiding
from?

Was JD Vance a Marine? A look at the military record of Trump's VP pick
Vance�s military career

For the last nine months of his service, Vance was the media relations
officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina, one
of the largest military bases on the East Coast.

Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance stands onstage during his walk-
thru ahead of Day 2 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the
Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 16, 2024.
Vance�s time in Iraq

Vance was deployed to Iraq for six months in late 2005. Based on his memoir,
he would �attach to different units to get a sense of their daily routine,�
escort civilian press, and write stories about individual marines.

On a mission into Iraqi territory, Vance said he experienced a pivotal moment
when he and his unit interacted with local school children. As they handed
out school supplies to the children, Vance gave a small eraser to a boy.

After the boy received the eraser, Vance said, �His face briefly lit up with
joy before he ran away to his family, holding his two-cent prize aloft in
triumph. I have never seen such excitement on a child�s face.�
Former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.

Vance described how growing up with limited means and spending time overseas
made him who he is today.

�That resentment didn�t vanish in an instant,� he said, �but as I stood and
surveyed the mass of children of a war-torn nation� I began to appreciate how
lucky I was: born in the greatest country on earth, every modern convenience
at my fingertips � At that moment, I resolved to be the type of man who would
smile when someone gave him an eraser. I haven�t quite made it there, but
without that day in Iraq, I wouldn�t be trying.�