USS Frank E. Evans Families and Survivors Remember

Family of RI sailor lost in Vietnam War fights to have his name listed on wall
Providence Journal
By Donita Naylor
Journal Staff Writer
Posted May. 20, 2016

The dead were not counted as casualties of the Vietnam War, and thus not listed on the wall, because the maneuvers were 127 miles outside the combat zone.

CUMBERLAND, R.I. — A memorial stone was unveiled and a tree dedicated Friday to honor a 20-year-old Cumberland sailor who was among 74 lost at sea in a naval accident in the Vietnam War.

Part of a nationwide effort to get the 74 names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., the stone was placed by veterans, survivors and relatives of the men aboard the USS Frank E. Evans.

The destroyer was cut in half by an Australian aircraft carrier after a series of navigational mistakes in the South China Sea at about 3 a.m. on June 3, 1969. The front half of the ship sank in less than four minutes, and everyone sleeping in the forward section was lost.
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