![]() The fate of Johnston 's captain was never conclusively established, and remains the subject of continuing conjecture among the ship's survivors. Roberts, who charged in with Evans on a subsequent torpedo attack. We will do what damage we can." However, contemporaneous sources credit the latter part of this dramatic announcement to lieutenant commander Robert W. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. Some claim that Evans told his crew over the ship's intercom: "A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. 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. When the Japanese fleet was first sighted, Evans did not hesitate. The famous battle has become known as " The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", after the 2004 book of the same title. 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. 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. 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. ![]() While serving on Alden he participated in operations in and around Australia, New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies. ![]() He became commanding officer of Alden on March 14, 1942, and held that position until July 7, 1943. 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. ![]() 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. Remains not recovered listed on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American CemeteryĮrnest Edwin Evans (Aug– 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.Įvans, of Native American ancestry (half Cherokee and one quarter Creek), was born in Pawnee, Oklahoma and graduated from Muskogee Central High School. ![]()
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