Seventy-four. That’s the number that will always haunt Ed Holsopple.
That number means 74 lives lost and 74 men who paid the ultimate price for their country. It means 74 souls who will never be forgotten.
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Seventy-four sailors died while aboard the USS Frank E. Evans (DD 754) on June 3, 1969 after the warship was sliced in half following a collision with a larger, Australian Naval ship during a training exercise in the South China Sea.
The incident occurred in the thick of the Vietnam War, but the names of those 74 were never inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Holsopple and a group of others in the USS Frank E. Evans (DD 754) Association hope to change that.
“We feel that it’s the honor they deserve and earned,” Holsopple, of Johnstown, said. “We promised those 74 young men that we would never forget them and that’s the premise for our efforts today.”
Because the incident occurred outside the identified Vietnam War “combat zone,” the names were never inscribed on the black wall of the memorial, but the association is pouring its resources into convincing congressional leaders to put pressure on the Department of Defense to make an exception.
Exceptions have been made in the past and names have been added to the memorial following DOD approval. Since the wall was dedicated in 1982, nine groups of names were added to the list of nearly 60,000 who paid the ultimate price.
Holsopple, who served on the ship from 1964-1967 as a gunfire control technician, wants the “lost 74” of the Evans to be the tenth addition.
Several resolutions have been submitted since the wall was erected and have been repeatedly denied by the DOD. Efforts began with Thomas Corcoran, the father of Patrick Michael Corcoran, of Philadelphia.
Thomas Corcoran was reportedly devastated to find that his son’s name was never inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and fought until his death in 2006 to have it etched into stone.
In addition to Patrick Corcoran, a seaman apprentice, four other men from Pennsylvania were killed and lost at sea when the ship partially sunk in a staggering 2 minutes. They were:
- Victor Thomas Rikal, a radarman second class whose hometown is unknown
- Donald Eugene Gearhart, a seaman apprentice whose last known address was in Lewistown
- Stephen Donald Fagan, a seaman apprentice whose last known address was in Huntingdon
- Raymond Joseph Earley, a seaman apprentice whose last known address was in Mahony City
Another 199 sailors aboard the Evans survived.
Evans had just completed a naval training exercise within the combat zone to the southeast of Vietnam. The ship then traveled toward Thailand to be part of a SEATO exercise.
Members of the association say it was “conjecture” that the ship would return to the coast of Vietnam following the exercise, but during transit, a collision occurred with HMAS Melbourne (R 21) and Evans was destroyed.
However, documentation of that reported return to war activities following the training exercise doesn’t exist. Evidence of the “conjecture” would have either been lost when the ship sunk or destroyed after exceeding established holding periods.
But members of the Association who drew up the resolution that's been sent to several congressional leaders say that conjecture is supported by "substantial circumstantial evidence."
Whatever the case, it’s been made abundantly clear that these former sailors are going to do what’s in their power to right what Holsopple refers to as “an injustice.” With the resolution, they submitted a petition bearing 5,636 names.
Holsopple said he’s working closely with the office of Bill Shuster, R-9th district, who serves on the House Armed Forces Committee. Gretchen Gailey, a spokeswoman in Shuster's office, said it’s “looking into” the information sent by the association.
And there’s a book about the incident that focuses on the last crew of the ship. Paul Sherbo authored the retelling of the story and it was published in 2009. He said he absolutely backs the association’s efforts to have the names inscribed.
But members of the association doesn’t give themselves enough credit, Sherbo says, noting that it’s brought together men who were separated for decades. They now have a network to share stories of survival, triumph and brotherhood.
“Some of those sailors went down with the ship and the fact is that their shipmates keep their memory alive,” Sherbo said. “They’re together as a crew and, in a sense, they sail on together forever. That, I think, transcends putting names on a wall.”
Below is a list of the 74 who died at sea while aboard the Evans. Those in bold were from Pennsylvania:
- Ensign Alan Herbert Armstrong
- Seaman James Robert Baker
- Yeoman Third Class Andrew James Botto
- Radarman Third Class Thomas Belue Box
- Electronics Technician Third Class James Franklin Bradley
- Ensign Robert George Brandon
- Seaman Apprentice Harris Melvin Brown
- Boiler Technician Second Class William Daniel Brown Ii
- Chief Hospital Corpsman Charles William Cannington
- Radarman Second Class Christopher John Carlson
- Seaman Michael Kale Clawson
- Seaman Danny Victor Clute
- Yeoman Third Class James Richard Cmeyla
- Electronics Technician Third Class Larry Wayne Cool
- Seaman Patrick Michael Corcoran
- Seaman Apprentice Joe Eddy Craig
- Electronics Technician (Radar) Third Class James Wilburn Davis
- Seaman Apprentice Leon Larry Deal
- Seaman James Fred Dykes Iii
- Seaman Apprentice Raymond Joseph Earley
- Gunners Mate Third Class Steven Frank Espinosa
- Seaman Apprentice Stephen Donald Fagan
- Seaman Apprentice William Donald Fields
- Seaman Apprentice Alan Carl Flummer
- Seaman Apprentice Henry Kenneth Frye
- Seaman Francis Joseph Garcia
- Sonar Technician (Surface) Third Class Melvin Hollman Gardner
- Seaman Apprentice Donald Eugene Gearhart
- Boatswains Mate Third Class Patrick Gene Glennon
- Seaman Apprentice Kenneth Wayne Glines
- Seaman Apprentice Joe Luis Gonzales
- Sonar Technician (Surface) Third Class Larry Allan Gracely
- Seaman Apprentice Devere Ray Grissom, Jr.
- Seaman Apprentice Steven Allen Guyer
- Radarman Third Class Terry Lee Henderson
- Chief Electricians Mate Edward Philip Hess
- Radarman Second Class Garry Bradbury Hodgson
- Seaman Apprentice Dennis Ralph Johnston
- Seaman Apprentice James William Kerr
- Chief Boatswains Mate Willie Lee King
- Chief Radarman George Joseph La Liberte'
- Radioman Second Class Raymond Patrick Lebrun
- Radarman First Class Eugene Francis Lehman
- Seaman Apprentice Isaac Lyons, Jr.
- Seaman Apprentice Douglas Roy Meister
- Seaman Apprentice Andrew Martin Melendrez
- Seaman Frederic Conrad Messier
- Seaman Apprentice Timothy Lynn Miller
- Ensign John Townsend Norton, Jr.
- Ensign Gregory Koichi Ogawa
- Seaman Apprentice Michael Anthony Orlikowski
- Interior Communications Electrician Second Class Linden Russell Orpurt
- Lieutenant Junior Grade Dwight Scott Pattee
- Seaman Apprentice Craig Allen Pennell
- Seaman Apprentice Jerome Pickett
- Yeoman Second Class Earl Frederick Preston, Jr.
- Boiler Technician Third Class Lawrence John Reilly, Jr.
- Radarman Second Class Victor Thomas Rikal
- Boatswains Mate Second Class Gary Loren Sage
- Radarman Third Class Gregory Allan Sage
- Seaman Apprentice Kelly Jo Sage
- Seaman Apprentice John Alan Sauvey
- Boiler Technician Fireman Apprentice Robert James Searle
- Fireman Apprentice Gerald Wayne Smith
- Seaman Thurston Perry Smith, Jr.
- Sonar Technician Second Class John Raymond Spray
- Lieutenant Junior Grade Jon Kenneth Stever
- Seaman Apprentice Thomas Fred Tallon
- Radarman Second Class Ronald Arthur Thibodeau
- Radarman Third Class Jon Wayne Thomas
- Seaman Apprentice John Thomas Tolar
- Quartermaster Third Class Gary Joseph Vigue
- Radarman Third Class Con Wesley Warnock
- Seaman Apprentice Henry Dennis West III