Evans, Cleveland Jr.
Marines Staff sergeant

Cleveland Evans Jr., age 22, from Hot Springs, Arkansas, Garland county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, March 13, 1968

Death details: On March 13, 1968, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 67-17254) carrying four crew members and six passengers was conducting a round-trip logistics flight from Camp Evans to Phu Bai Air Base, South Vietnam. On the return leg, three to five miles southeast of Camp Evans, the helicopter was hit by enemy ground fire, which subsequently forced its landing. After the landing, five of the ten individuals proceeded on foot in the direction of Camp Evens and arrived safely; however, the remaining five formed a security perimeter around the downed aircraft and were immediately involved in a heavy firefight with the enemy. In a later search of the area, U.S. forces recovered the remains of two men from a shallow grave, but the other three members were missing.

Staff Sergeant Cleveland Evans Jr., who entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Arkansas, served with the 3rd Motor Transport Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. He was a passenger on board the helicopter when it was forced to the ground on March 13, 1968. He was part of the security detail that remained at the helicopter and is believed to have been killed when enemy forces attacked, though his remains have not been recovered. After the incident, the Marine Corps promoted SSgt Evans to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. Today, Gunnery Sergeant Evans is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com