Support Amendment 2207 to Senate Bill 4638/National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

US Senate Armed Services Committee

Amendment 2207 of the National Defense Authorization Act, introduced by Senator Chuck Schumer, seeks to right a wrong that has been 55 years in the making.  


It started on June 3, 1969, when USS Frank E Evans participated in a show of force in the South China Sea, along with member nations of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). USS Frank E Evans had just completed a long tour of shore bombardment off the coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea. On that night, the USS Evans was operating as an escort destroyer to the task force leader, HMAS Melbourne, an Australian aircraft carrier. At approximately 0315 that dark morning during a change of station maneuver, USS Frank E Evans and HMAS Melbourne were involved in a catastrophic collision. HMAS Melbourne struck USS Frank E Evans amidships cutting her in half. Within minutes the forward half rolled to starboard and sank, taking with her 74 brave souls. A total of 37 sailors on the forward section managed to escape and survive.

The tragedy of that night is compounded by a lack of acknowledgment on the part of the U. S. Navy and the Department of Defense for the sacrifice these men, their parents, and loved ones have made. Even though FRANK E. EVANS had just completed an extended tour of shore bombardment off the Vietnam coast, and even though she was part of a SEATO Task Force making a “show of force” demonstration to the North Vietnamese, her sailors’ names are not on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington D.C. Drawing an arbitrary line in the water should not be the deciding factor when determining the Lost 74 made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country in the Vietnam War.

Amendment 2207 seeks to rectify this tragic omission by instructing the Secretary of Defense shall authorize the inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in the District of Columbia of the names of the 74 crew members of the USS Frank E. Evans killed on June 3, 1969, in collaboration and consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, the American Battlefield Monuments Commission, and other applicable authorities.

We urge you to support USS Frank E Evans Amendment 2207 to Senate Bill 4638, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

To: US Senate Armed Services Committee
From: [Your Name]

I urge you to support the inclusion of Amendment 2207 in the National Defense Authorization Act, which calls on the Secretary of Defense to authorize the inclusion of the names of the 74 sailors who lost their lives on June 3, 1969 when the USS Frank E Evans suffered a collision with the HMAS Melbourne in the South China Sea during the Vietnam War.