First Vern Buchanan TV ad spotlights reforms sought after Bradenton soldier’s death

Nicholas Panipinto, as eulogized in an ad for Rep. Vern Buchanan.

Rep. Vern Buchanan devoted significant energy into reforming military procedures after the death of a solider from his district. Now his first video ad this year tells Spc. Nicholas Panipinto’s story.

The Bradenton Army soldier died last November at Camp Humphreys in South Korea when an M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicle he was driving rolled over during a training exercise, Stars & Stripes reported.

It’s an event Panipinto’s father Anthony describes as “one of the worst days of my life.”

“They were test driving a vehicle, and I didn’t get how that could happen,” the father says in the ad.

Buchanan didn’t either, and since then has demanded changes in training and safety procedures. In July, the House adopted a measure proposed by the Longboat Key Republican requiring an examination of emergency medical response capabilities at all U.S. military bases, and to report on the feasibility of requiring bases to have functioning MedEvac helicopters and fully stocked ambulances.

Panipinto had to be transported to a local hospital in South Korea for care. He died there from injuries at age 20. A post-incident report found there were no military ambulances available at the time, but properly stocked emergency response might have saved the soldier’s life.

“I miss him every second of every day, when nobody needs to feel this way,” said Kimberly Weaver, Panipinto’s mother, in the ad. “He should not be gone.”

The ad transitions to news images and an anchor voiceover reporting on Buchanan’s efforts to seek reform.

Panipinto’s parents in the ad express gratitude to the Congressman for taking up the cause.

“[It’s] such a blessing to have Congressman Buchanan’s help in shining a light on these tragedies,” Weaver said. “As soon as he was involved, I mean, he just has taken it and run.”

“Thank God for Vern, because it never really felt like the common person had a voice, until now,” adds Anthony Panipinto.

While Weaver says there will be a “hole in our heart forever,” the parents express gratitude for Buchanan championing reform in the soldier’s memory.

The one-minute video never features Buchanan himself (outside of a required disclaimer in the TV version only), and instead closes with a title card reading “In memory of SPC. Nicholas Panipinto; 1999-2019” across B-roll of military memorabilia belonging to the family.

The ad is the first released by the Buchanan campaign, which is blasting the video out on digital platforms and television airwaves. He’s facing a challenge this year in Florida’s 16th Congressional District from Sarasota Democrat Margaret Good.