Why are we here?

Vance Flosenzier. Man, myth, legend. Uncle, hero, commoner. Essence of a man. Why do we honor him? Let the nancy pants at CNN introduce us to Vance.

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There is new information out this afternoon about that shark attack that involved a young boy at a Pensacola, Florida beach. For the first time now, we're getting details of the attack from the uncle, who wrestled the shark to shore after it attacked the little boy. CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman is in Pensacola, Florida now. Gary, what you can tell us?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Joie, the National Park Service has released its official report of the shark attack in Pensacola beach that has left the young Jessie Arbogast in critical but stable condition, and it's so chilling it sounds like a movie, but it's all true. Little Jessie was at the beach with his aunt, uncles and cousins. His uncle Vance Flosenger (ph) says, quote: "I heard someone yell 'shark' and a scream." The uncle then saw a large pool of blood where the children were playing. The uncle ran into the water and saw the shark holding onto Jessie's arm. The uncle grabbed the base of the tail of the shark and tried to pull it away from Jessie. The uncle pulled the second time, and the shark fell free. Jessie fell back, away from the shark, and an unidentified man caught Jessie, prevented him from drowning. His aunt Diana helped carry Jessie from the water.

Vance, the uncle, still had a hold of the shark. Two of his girls were still in the water. Vance began stepping backward, pulling the shark to shore, noticing that the shark appeared to have no power. It kept trying to turn toward the uncle. The shark continued to try to swim away. The uncle pulled the shark up to the embankment, away from the water. The aunt began CPR on Jessie. The uncle grabbed some towels and shirts to wrap Jessie's wounds. Two park rangers then arrived on the scene. They used a baton to pry open the shark's mouth on the beach. Jessie's arm was in there, but the shark was still alive. So, ranger Gerald Klein (ph) shot the shark in the head four times. They then retrieved the arm, and it has now been reattached to Jessie. He remains in the hospital, as we said, in critical stable condition -- Joie.

CHEN: Gary, can you talk about the emotions given in that report? I mean, is it a pretty straightforward sort of police report, or do you have the sense of the tremendous emotion and adrenaline that the uncle must have had as he was trying to rescue the little boy.

TUCHMAN: Well, that's why the report is so surreal, Joie, because I've read hundreds of reports like this over the years from different crime scenes, and it's laid out exactly the same way, but I have certainly never seen details like this before.

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And finally, a search of this legendary man will also share the story of his nephew, who regrettably suffered brain damage from his attack. So as we honor Vance, we also give thanks for the life that he saved and wish only the best for the challengs that boy faces.