On 16 October 1940 when he was aged 30, Evans registered for the draft in New Rochelle. He was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall with brown hair and eyes, and a light complexion. He still lived at home with his parents, working as a secretary for the American Cyanamid Company, which was growing into one of America’s leading conglomerates making chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and plastics.
Evans eventually enlisted into the US Navy Reserve on 2 November 1942 and was given service number 207143. He was commissioned with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade and attended the Submarine Chaser Training Center in Miami, Florida.
At the beginning of March 1943, he joined the crew of the USS PC-625 at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Built the previous year, it was a small ship specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare and served in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Evans took command on 16 October 1943 and lead the ship until it was handed over to the French almost exactly a year later.
In February 1945, Evans was part of the commissioning team for the USS Renate (AKA-36), a new Artemis-class attack cargo ship, designed to land weapons, supplies, and troops on enemy shores during amphibious operations. After completing shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay it sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 21 April, and then spent the next couple of months dropping supplies around US bases in the Pacific.
In September, Renate was one of the ships that carried the first US troops to occupy Japan’s home islands following their surrender, thereafter carrying US troops back home. Evans is last recorded onboard on 29 November 1945.
Post-war, Evans remained in the reserves for the next 25 years.
Ships
- USS PC-625
- USS Renate (AKA-36)
See also
