FA Fancher was born on July 19, 1959, in St. Louis, Missouri. He dropped out of high school to join the US Navy, enlisting on September 7, 1976 and was assigned in USS Guam. He excelled during basic training and was named recruit company chief petty officer, the top recruit in his company, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on January 20, 1977. He died on January 17, 1977 in the Liberty launch boat (LCM-6) accident as he was aboard. Their boat struck a freighter and capsized during the USS Trenton and USS Guam visitation in Barcelona, Spain. Fancher had served only four months in the military when he died at age 17. He is now buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA.