Meet Adam Vance

Adam Vance leads an interesting life. Living in Tampa Bay, Florida he works for WTSP News Channel 10 as a photojournalist. He is a self-described “leatherman” who says when his station needs something done, he is the one they come to. However, what people may not know about are the many challenges Adam has faced in his journey to where he is today. Many of which he does not even remember.

Born in Saigon, South Vietnam during the last part of the Vietnam Conflict, Adam was orphaned as a baby. In April 1975 the United States began an operation to transport as many babies living in South Vietnamese orphanages as possible to the United States in hopes they could find a new life in America. The very first flight of Operation Babylift ended in tragedy when the military airplane carrying the babies crashed in a rice paddy field due to an equipment malfunction. Nearly half of the people on board died in the carnage. Adam, although only 13-months old, was one of the lucky survivors to dismount the plane on that fateful day.

Adam feels as though he has a purpose in life after surviving a plane crash that could have easily claimed his life. The importance of being the best person he can be is not lost on him, even 38 years later, as he lives happily with his wife and children in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Meet Adam Vance.

(VIDEO: Matt Dyer, runtime 2:25)