Ernest Evans was the Commander of the destroyer USS Johnston. Evans was a Native American (half Cherokee, one fourth Creek). He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1931. On Oct. 27, 1943, he was given command of the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Johnston. He told his crew “this is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now”. The Johnston was sent to join the American fleet in the Pacific. On May 16, 1944, Evans earned a Bronze Star for the sinking of a Japanese submarine.
In October, 1944, the Johnston participated in the invasion of the Philippines. His ship was part of a fleet called Taffy 3. Taffy 3 consisted of 4 destroyer escorts, 3 destroyers, and 6 escort carriers. Their job was protecting transport ships off the Philippines after the American invasion. Oct. 25, 1944 was the last day of the largest naval battle in history – the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Japanese plan had been to use four groups of warships to get to the very vulnerable American transports that were supporting the troops ashore. The day before, three of the four Japanese forces had been defeated. The most dangerous force had been pummeled and forced to retreat. When the Japanese admiral decided to turn around and resume his mission, the U.S. Navy did not know this. To make matters worse, the Johnston and its fellow small vessels did not realize was that the big American ships had been lured away by a Japanese deception, leaving the Taffy 3 to face a Japanese fleet including massive battleships (including the largest battleship ever made – the Yamato). Admiral Kurita’s force was 11 destroyers, 2 light cruisers, 6 heavy cruisers, and 4 battleships.
Oct. 25, 1944 promised to be a hectic day of avoiding kamikazes, but no one in Taffy 3 thought it would be much more dangerous. Suddenly, Japanese warships emerged on the horizon. Although taken by surprise, the Johnston was the first to react. Johnston addressed his crew: “A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.” Laying down a smoke screen to obscure the American escort carriers, the tin can rushed toward the behemoths. This was basically suicidal. A torpedo fired by the tiny destroyer put a heavy cruiser out of action, but the Johnston was hit by six shells. It limped to within 6,000 yards of another cruiser to distract it from an attack on one of the carriers. The Johnston’s small caliber guns claimed numerous hits, but could do little damage to the heavily armored Japanese ships. The Johnston turned to confront a light cruiser and four destroyers. It hit the Japanese dozens of times and distracted a torpedo attack on an American escort carrier. By now, the little ship had fired all 10 of its torpedoes and 200 rounds from its 5-inch guns. After two hours of a melee, the Japanese surrounded the Johnston and pummeled it until Evans ordered abandon ship. Only 141 of the 327 sailors survived. Evans went down with his ship. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. Below is his citation. The crew was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Because of the valiant efforts of Taffy 3, the Japanese were intimidated into abandoning their pursuit of the very vulnerable transport ships and a catastrophe was averted.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Johnston in action against major units of the enemy Japanese fleet during the battle off Samar on 25 October 1944. The first to lay a smokescreen and to open fire as an enemy task force, vastly superior in number, firepower and armor, rapidly approached. Comdr. Evans gallantly diverted the powerful blasts of hostile guns from the lightly armed and armored carriers under his protection, launching the first torpedo attack when the Johnston came under straddling Japanese shellfire. Undaunted by damage sustained under the terrific volume of fire, he unhesitatingly joined others of his group to provide fire support during subsequent torpedo attacks against the Japanese and, outshooting and outmaneuvering the enemy as he consistently interposed his vessel between the hostile fleet units and our carriers despite the crippling loss of engine power and communications with steering aft, shifted command to the fantail, shouted steering orders through an open hatch to men turning the rudder by hand and battled furiously until the Johnston, burning and shuddering from a mortal blow, lay dead in the water after 3 hours of fierce combat. Seriously wounded early in the engagement, Comdr. Evans, by his indomitable courage and brilliant professional skill, aided materially in turning back the enemy during a critical phase of the action. His valiant fighting spirit throughout this historic battle will venture as an inspiration to all who served with him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_E._Evans
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