[Washington Examiner] On June 3, 1969, Steve Kraus was a 22-year-old signalman of the watch on board the USS Frank E. Evans in the South China Sea. It was 3:05 a.m. when he saw that the destroyer was on a collision course with an Australian aircraft carrier. He ran into the signal shop shouting that the ship was about to be hit."Three minutes later the forward section of our ship had sunk into the ocean, taking 74 of our sailors with it," Kraus told the Washington Examiner. Nearly 50 years later, Kraus has another mission ‐ to ensure that those 74 names are added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.
Pentagon red tape stating that the disaster occurred outside the official Vietnam combat zone means none of the names of the "Lost 74" appear on the Vietnam wall. The ship sank just over one hundred miles outside the official Vietnam War theater.
"These guys died in support of their country," said Kraus. "We trained, we went over, we knew the purpose of this assignment was to participate in the Vietnam War, but now the Pentagon wants to discount it. Drawing an arbitrary line in the sand, or in the water in this case, is ludicrous. These men deserve the ultimate recognition of being on that wall with their fellow servicemen."
Kraus was one of the 199 survivors and today is the president of the USS Frank E. Evans Association. For nearly three decades, the group has battled with the Pentagon. As the 50th anniversary approaches this year, the idea is gaining support in Congress, with a liberal Democrat running for the White House and a pro-Trump Republican from the red state of Montana joining forces to lead the way.
USS Frank E. Evans (DD-754) Website