A really tough call. I grieve for those men and their families. However, they were not, in fact, participating in the action re Vietnam. They were, in essence, "TDY" to the training exercise far from Vietnam waters. I believe the same rule should apply, here, that applies to soldiers TDY from Vietnam (training, etc) OR, those on R&R in, say, Australia. If a soldier dies while on R&R in Australia and his name gets on the Wall, then these sailors should be added. If not, not. Regardless, thank you, Tara Ross for reminding us that the impact of the war continue - perhaps, forever.
What a tragedy and shame on our government for not recognizing the 74 sailors who died that fateful night ! The men who died that night should be on the “ Wall “ they were following orders and the fact that some defense dept bureaucrat thought a training exercise in the middle of a WAR WAS A GOOD Idea is both Wrong + Dumb !
Seems to bit of a travesty in this. Hopefully, the USN will reconsider this decision. Those sailors were Vietnam vets who had o tributes to the war effort. Although they may not have been in the designated war zone, they were still in the theater it would seem.
It was not unusual for ships to leave the line to resupply or be redirected to a training exercise while on deployment to Vietnam. It is an opportunity for the US to partner with allies for additional training. Being deployed to WESPAC in those days was for the sole purpose of supporting the war effort. In the case of the Evan’s their deployment was not over. They were scheduled to re-enter the combat area. The ship I served on was redirected to South Korea for a training exercise after being on patrol for a few months but we were always scheduled to go back on patrol. It was part of our deployment. Those guys should be on the Wall.
Thanks Tara! In my opinion they should be acknowledged and added a to the memorial. They were serving in Vietnam on their way to resupply and on official duty.
Thank you Tara. This is a very sad tragedy and because of a technicality 74 men whose lives were lost during a resupply run aren't listed on the wall of fallen heroes. I certainly hope that this will be corrected. They deserve to be on that wall. Maybe, thanks to you, this error will be corrected.
Those 74 sailors’ names should be on the wall! There shouldn’t have been a question about it. Sometimes the government makes some stupid and very bad decisions. What a terrible tragedy that should never have happened. Heartbreaking loss of life. Thanks, Tara, for another new lesson in our history that most probably never knew.
Operating within 5 nautical miles of any carrier is extremely dangerous as most bird farms are well known for erratic maneuvering and sudden, but extreme helm orders. Leaving two inexperienced officers in charge of the ship and the safety of the crew is clearly dereliction of duty along with hazarding the ship's mission. Something was clearly lacking that allowed any US Navy to turn toward a carrier!
The aircraft carrier my husband was stationed aboard when the accident happened no one but a few knows exactly where the carrier was whether in the Gulf of Tonkin or the south China sea the carrier had been in and around the Gulf of Tonkin so much and so long that its wooden flight deck was covered with Agent Orange. But his paperwork indicates that they consider that he wasn't in Vietnam. My husband always said that they were off of the coast of Da Nang in Vietnam. How would he know that if he wasn't there? That ship according to history says that is exactly were it was. The US government has yet to step up for the Vietnam veterans and their families and I truly believe that they never will.
My being a veteran of the "Tonkin Gulf Yaught Club" I always wondered if the residue from the spraying of Agent Orange would find it's way into my blood stream. (I have fought and been treated for skin cancers for decades after that engagement in the Tonkin.
I have at least 3 friends and relatives pass away from direct results of the Agent Orange.
Our Admirals helocopter went in and out of VN area all thru the summer of 1971. We never thought about the fact that that "bird" could bring back toxic residue to our flight deck.
(Many evenings we sat on the flight deck and hanger bay, while watching movies or having BBQ's with the Admiral, without ever thinking about that stuff.)
My thoughts are still with the people, as well as the next generations of survivors of South Vietnam. [There will always be questions about what we did] to their jungle areas and crop growing fields. God have mercy.
Does that mean that soldiers who died in Laos and Cambodia are not named on the wall because they were outside of VN—or where those countries declared to be inside the “conflict zone”?
My step father was a helicopter pilot and several years ago while at a reunion he noticed that a mission was missing from his record. When he asked about it he was told "we weren't there" so no it will never be recognized.
An interesting (article) about the Melbourne. Navy personnel are always quick in [tagging] occassions of that sort, with beinig "Jinxed" ! Once a ship is labeled with a passed reputation, it's hard to shrug it off. Things like that haunt the crews forever.
(Maybe they should have converted that ship to a floating casino.) That would have been a very bad thing for gamblers. $ ; >0)
A really tough call. I grieve for those men and their families. However, they were not, in fact, participating in the action re Vietnam. They were, in essence, "TDY" to the training exercise far from Vietnam waters. I believe the same rule should apply, here, that applies to soldiers TDY from Vietnam (training, etc) OR, those on R&R in, say, Australia. If a soldier dies while on R&R in Australia and his name gets on the Wall, then these sailors should be added. If not, not. Regardless, thank you, Tara Ross for reminding us that the impact of the war continue - perhaps, forever.
What a tragedy and shame on our government for not recognizing the 74 sailors who died that fateful night ! The men who died that night should be on the “ Wall “ they were following orders and the fact that some defense dept bureaucrat thought a training exercise in the middle of a WAR WAS A GOOD Idea is both Wrong + Dumb !
Seems to bit of a travesty in this. Hopefully, the USN will reconsider this decision. Those sailors were Vietnam vets who had o tributes to the war effort. Although they may not have been in the designated war zone, they were still in the theater it would seem.
It was not unusual for ships to leave the line to resupply or be redirected to a training exercise while on deployment to Vietnam. It is an opportunity for the US to partner with allies for additional training. Being deployed to WESPAC in those days was for the sole purpose of supporting the war effort. In the case of the Evan’s their deployment was not over. They were scheduled to re-enter the combat area. The ship I served on was redirected to South Korea for a training exercise after being on patrol for a few months but we were always scheduled to go back on patrol. It was part of our deployment. Those guys should be on the Wall.
Thanks Tara! In my opinion they should be acknowledged and added a to the memorial. They were serving in Vietnam on their way to resupply and on official duty.
Thank you Tara. This is a very sad tragedy and because of a technicality 74 men whose lives were lost during a resupply run aren't listed on the wall of fallen heroes. I certainly hope that this will be corrected. They deserve to be on that wall. Maybe, thanks to you, this error will be corrected.
Very sad situation; anything that should have gone right went wrong; thank you
Those 74 sailors’ names should be on the wall! There shouldn’t have been a question about it. Sometimes the government makes some stupid and very bad decisions. What a terrible tragedy that should never have happened. Heartbreaking loss of life. Thanks, Tara, for another new lesson in our history that most probably never knew.
This is a terrible tragedy, in every way you can imagine....
Operating within 5 nautical miles of any carrier is extremely dangerous as most bird farms are well known for erratic maneuvering and sudden, but extreme helm orders. Leaving two inexperienced officers in charge of the ship and the safety of the crew is clearly dereliction of duty along with hazarding the ship's mission. Something was clearly lacking that allowed any US Navy to turn toward a carrier!
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thank you
The aircraft carrier my husband was stationed aboard when the accident happened no one but a few knows exactly where the carrier was whether in the Gulf of Tonkin or the south China sea the carrier had been in and around the Gulf of Tonkin so much and so long that its wooden flight deck was covered with Agent Orange. But his paperwork indicates that they consider that he wasn't in Vietnam. My husband always said that they were off of the coast of Da Nang in Vietnam. How would he know that if he wasn't there? That ship according to history says that is exactly were it was. The US government has yet to step up for the Vietnam veterans and their families and I truly believe that they never will.
My being a veteran of the "Tonkin Gulf Yaught Club" I always wondered if the residue from the spraying of Agent Orange would find it's way into my blood stream. (I have fought and been treated for skin cancers for decades after that engagement in the Tonkin.
I have at least 3 friends and relatives pass away from direct results of the Agent Orange.
Our Admirals helocopter went in and out of VN area all thru the summer of 1971. We never thought about the fact that that "bird" could bring back toxic residue to our flight deck.
(Many evenings we sat on the flight deck and hanger bay, while watching movies or having BBQ's with the Admiral, without ever thinking about that stuff.)
My thoughts are still with the people, as well as the next generations of survivors of South Vietnam. [There will always be questions about what we did] to their jungle areas and crop growing fields. God have mercy.
Thank you for your service and welcome home
Does that mean that soldiers who died in Laos and Cambodia are not named on the wall because they were outside of VN—or where those countries declared to be inside the “conflict zone”?
My step father was a helicopter pilot and several years ago while at a reunion he noticed that a mission was missing from his record. When he asked about it he was told "we weren't there" so no it will never be recognized.
This was actually not the first friendly ship sunk while crossing Melbourne’s path in error, according to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Melbourne_(R21)
Really? I didn't know that part.
An interesting (article) about the Melbourne. Navy personnel are always quick in [tagging] occassions of that sort, with beinig "Jinxed" ! Once a ship is labeled with a passed reputation, it's hard to shrug it off. Things like that haunt the crews forever.
(Maybe they should have converted that ship to a floating casino.) That would have been a very bad thing for gamblers. $ ; >0)
Thank you, Tara. Should be on the wall.