The USS Frank E. Evans Association

Project 74

Did you know there are 74 Vietnam Veterans names not on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.?

Imagine in 1985, a Gold Star Father looking for his son’s name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. (further referenced herein as “the Wall”.) He searches all day but can’t find his son’s name. He believes it must be a mistake. It is no mistake! His son’s name is not there along with 73 other names of US Navy sailors that lost their lives during the Vietnam War while onboard USS Frank E Evans DD 754, a US Naval Destroyer. The loved ones of these 74 US Navy sailors do not have bodies to bury and were not given the respect of including the names of their husbands, fathers and sons on the Wall. Imagine the heartbreaking devastation of traveling to the Wall with the anticipation of locating the name of your loved one, only to discover their name was excluded. Can you imagine the heartbreak as you stand at the Wall and realize you’re loved ones’ name is missing?

I bet you are finding this hard to believe! It is the unthinkable, right? We couldn’t possibly have US Navy Vietnam Veterans serving on a US Military Destroyer excluded from the honor of having their names memorialized in Washington, D.C. Well, it’s true. There are 74 US Navy sailors that lost their lives on June 3, 1969, in the South China Sea, that do not have their names listed on the Wall. This is unacceptable! These 74 US Navy sailors made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and their names were excluded. Their loved ones have no names to visit.

Sadly, past efforts to get the names of these 74 US Navy sailors added to the Wall have failed because the family members of these 74 sailors lacked the expertise and money to navigate the complexity of moving legislation through the house. These families should not have to continue to suffer because of our government’s failure to rightfully honor these 74 sailors.

In 1992, the surviving US Navy sailors that served aboard the USS Frank E. Evans created an Association with the primary mission to fight to have their 74 fellow sailor’s names memorialize on the Wall. Please help us to rectify this unthinkable travesty. We are raising money to fund consultants to help remove roadblocks and get amendments through the legislative process to rightfully add the 74 sailors to the Wall. There’s no donation to small. 100% of the donations will be used to get these 74 US Navy Sailor’s names added to the Wall.

STORY OF THE COLLISION

USS Frank E. Evans DD 754 departed Long Beach, California on March 29 1969 to fight in the Vietnam War. She was ordered to Yankee Station, the “Gun Line”, as a naval gun-fire support ship between May 4 and May 16 during Operation Daring Rebel. She responded to 86 calls for gunfire support, expending over 3,500 rounds of ammunition in support of the South Vietnamese, South Korean, and US Marine Corp troops that were fighting on the ground. On leaving the gun line, Evans proceeded to Subic Bay and Manila to rearm and prepare for a Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO exercise) and to return to Vietnam. On May 26 1969, she departed Manila in the screen of the Australian HMAS Melbourne (R 21.) In the early morning darkness on June 3 1969 during maneuvers of taking up plane guard station 1,000 yards astern of Melbourne, Evans crossed in front of the carrier and Melbourne cut Evans in half, 74 men lost their lives. Of those 74 sailors, 3 of them were the Sage Brothers from Niobrara, Nebraska. Also serving onboard was Chief Senior Gunners Mate Lawrence Reilly Sr. and his son Lawrence Reilly Jr., his son did not survive. Only one body was recovered, his name was Kenneth Glines.

FAMILY STORIES:

Eunice Sage, the mother of the 3 brothers, only wish while she was alive was to have her son’s names added to the Wall. In 1999, then Senator Hagel, makes a promise to Eunice to do everything within his power to see that her sons names were added to the Wall. When he becomes Secretary of Defense in 2014 and held the power to add their names, he did nothing.

Donna Kraus tells this story: In the 90’s, my husband Steve Kraus, a survivor of the USS Frank E. Evans collision, and I had attended only a few Evans reunions. At that time, I had never seen pictures of the lost 74. One night I had a dream and, in that dream, I saw two sailors under water with their hands and arms out reached and mouthing, “Help us.” This is an image that I will never forget. Later when I did see pictures of the 74 sailors, I recognized the two I saw in my dream immediately. It was, as if I had known them their entire lives’. There were no bodies to bury and no place to visit their names on the Wall. Not long after that my husband and I started the perpetual watch program within the association. We will never stop until the names are on the Wall.

Today, many oversights and past incorrect assumptions exist regarding the exclusion of the names of the 74 US Navy sailors. Today through an analysis conducted by the USS Frank E. Evans Association, consultants, and a few legislators we are taking steps to rectify this tragic injustice. However, it takes money to get this done! We will need to fund consultants to help remove roadblocks and get amendments through the legislative process.

Please help us by contributing to our efforts to honor the 74 US Navy Sailors aboard the USS Frank E. Evans. They made the ultimate sacrifice defending our county. They did their job, now let’s do ours. They earned the honor to be inscribed on the Wall. Again there’s no donation to small.

You can find more information about the USS Frank E. Evans by going to the Associations website: https://www.ussfee.org/