Ernest E. Evans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ernest Edwin Evans
Evans in 1943
Nickname(s)	"Big Chief"
Born	(1908-08-13)August 13, 1908 Pawnee, Oklahoma
Died	October 25, 1944(1944-10-25) (aged 36) off Samar, Philippine Islands
Place of burial	remains not recovered; listed on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1931–1944
Rank	Commander
Commands held	USS Alden USS Johnston
Battles/wars	World War II Battle off Samar  †
Awards	Medal of Honor Bronze Star Philippine Liberation Medal

Ernest Edwin Evans (August 13, 1908 – October 25, 1944) was an officer of the United States Navy who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle off Samar in World War II.

Biography

Evans, of Native American ancestry (half Cherokee and one quarter Creek), was born in Pawnee, Oklahoma and graduated from Muskogee Central High School. After one year of enlisted service in the Navy, he was appointed to the United States Naval Academy, entering as a Midshipman on June 29, 1927. He graduated from the academy in 1931.

On August 9, 1941, he was assigned to the destroyer Alden, and was serving on her in the East Indies when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7 of that year. He became commanding officer of Alden on March 14, 1942, and held that position until July 7, 1943. While serving on Alden he participated in operations in and around Australia, New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies.

Evans at the commissioning ceremony of the destroyer USS Johnston, Seattle, 1943

In mid-1943 Evans was ordered to duty in charge of fitting out the Fletcher-class destroyer Johnston at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation in Seattle, Washington. Commander Evans assumed command of Johnston at her commissioning on October 27, 1943, declaring to the assembled crew, "this is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm's way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now". He was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in sinking the Japanese submarine I-176 on May 16, 1944.

Battle off Samar

In the Battle off Samar, a part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Evans led Johnston until it was sunk on October 25, 1944, by a Japanese force that was vastly superior in number, firepower, and armor. Johnston, together with the destroyers Hoel and Heermann, four destroyer escorts and six escort carriers (CVEs), formed the task unit 77.4.3, known as Taffy 3. This group, together with planes from Taffy 2 (TU 77.4.2), ultimately forced a Japanese battlegroup consisting of 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 11 destroyers to abort its original mission to attack the landing beaches at Leyte under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, and retreat. The famous battle has become known as "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", after the 2004 book of the same title.

When the Japanese fleet was first sighted, Evans did not hesitate. After laying a smoke screen to help hide the escort carriers from enemy gunfire, he ordered his helm hard to port and he led his destroyer out of the task unit's circular antiaircraft disposition in favor of charging the enemy alone to make a torpedo attack. Some claim that Evans told his crew over the ship's intercom: "A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can." However, contemporaneous sources credit the latter part of this dramatic announcement to lieutenant commander Robert W. Copeland of Samuel B. Roberts, who charged in with Evans on a subsequent torpedo attack.

The fate of Johnston's captain was never conclusively established, and remains the subject of continuing conjecture among the ship's survivors. Some say that he was hit by Japanese naval shellfire; others that he was able to jump into a damaged motor whaleboat. What is known is that he was seriously wounded during the battle; that he lived long enough to give the order to abandon ship; and that he was not among those rescued. Evans was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his material contribution to the decisive victory won in Leyte Gulf, and shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded his group for this action in which he was killed.

Namesake

In 1955, the destroyer escort USS Evans (DE-1023) was named in his honor. It was decommissioned in 1968, and no active ship carries the name of Evans or Johnston, although a number of active ships have been named for Samuel B. Roberts and her crew. On November 12, 2013, a petition was started to name a ship after Evans.

On May 23, 2013, the Naval Station Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, Surface Warfare Officers School's virtual simulator for shiphandling training was dedicated as the Evans Full Mission-2 Simulator in Evans' honor.

Awards

See also

In Spanish: Ernest E. Evans para niños

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II