RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial bears the names of more than 58,000 Americans lost during the Vietnam War. The Memorial honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country, and stands as a place of reflection and healing for the nation; and
WHEREAS, 74 American sailors tragically lost their lives when their ship, the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans, was cut in half in by an Australian aircraft carrier on June 3, 1969 while participating in a joint military exercise in the South China Sea; and
WHEREAS, Among those lost were Chicagoans Jerome Pickett and Gerald Wayne Smith;
and
WHEREAS, Despite operating in Vietnamese waters immediately before the collision, and being scheduled to return to activities supporting the war effort after the exercise, the USS Frank E. Evans sank outside the geographical limit for the combat zone, and the crew was thus determined ineligible for inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; and
WHEREAS, Because an arbitrary line should not preclude those who deserve the honor of a place on the Memorial, exceptions have been previously granted to inscribe the names of other service members lost outside the designated combat zone; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 4435 as a companion bill to the Armed Services Appropriation Bill, which includes a provision urging the Secretary of Defense to add the names of the 74 sailors lost from the USS Frank E. Evans to the Vietnam Memorial; and
WHEREAS, The bill is currently pending in the United States Senate; and
WHEREAS, After a decades-long struggle by the families of the 74 men to have their loved ones added to the Memorial, passage of H.R. 4435 will facilitate the long-overdue recognition of the sacrifice those 74 men made for their country; and
WHEREAS, The names of the "Lost 74" are:
Ensign Alan Herbert Armstrong;
Seaman James Robert Baker;
Yeoman Third Class Andrew James Botto;
Radarman Third Class Thomas Belue Box;
Electronics Technician Third Class James
Franklin Bradley;
Ensign Robert George Brandon;
Seaman Apprentice Harris Melvin Brown;
Boiler Technician Second Class William
Daniel Brown, II;
Chief Hospital Corpsman Charles William Cannington;
Radarman Second Class Christopher John Carlson;
Seaman Michael Kale Clawson;
Seaman Danny Victor Clute;
Yeoman Third Class James Richard Cmeyla;
Electronics Technician Third Class Larry
Wayne Cool;
Seaman Patrick Michael Corcoran;
Seaman Apprentice Joe Eddie Craig;
Electronics Technician (Radar) Third Class
James Wilburn Davis;
Seaman Apprentice Leon Larry Deal;
Seaman James Fred Dykes, III;
Seaman Apprentice Raymond Joseph Earley;
Gunner's Mate Third Class Steven Frank
Espinosa;
Seaman Apprentice Stephen Donald Fagan;
Seaman Apprentice William Donald Fields;
Seaman Apprentice Alan Carl Flummer;
Seaman Apprentice Henry Kenneth Frye;
Seaman Francis Joseph Garcia;
Sonar Technician (Surface) Third Class
Melvin Hollman Gardner, Jr.;
Seaman Apprentice Donald Eugene Gearhart;
Boatswain's Mate Third Class Patrick Gene
Glennon;
Seaman Apprentice Kenneth Wayne Glines; Seaman Apprentice Joe Luis Gonzales; Sonar Technician (Surface) Third Class Larry Allan Gracely;
Seaman Apprentice Devere Ray Grissom, Jr.; Seaman Apprentice Steven Allen Guyer; Radarman Third Class Terry Lee Henderson; Chief Electrician's Mate Edward Philip Hess; Radarman Second Class Garry Bradbury Hodgson;
Seaman Apprentice Dennis Ralph Johnston; Seaman Apprentice James William Kerr; Chief Boatswain's Mate Willie Lee King; Chief Radarman George Joseph La Liberte'; Radioman Second Class Raymond Patrick Lebrun;
Radarman First Class Eugene Francis Lehman;
Seaman Apprentice Isaac Lyons, Jr.; Seaman Apprentice Douglas Roy Meister; Seaman Apprentice Andrew Martin Melendrez;
Seaman Fredric Conrad Messier; Seaman Apprentice Timothy Lynn Miller; Ensign John Townsend Norton, Jr.; Ensign Gregory Koichi Ogawa; Seaman Apprentice Michael Anthony Orlikowski;
Interior Communications Electrician Second
Class Linden Russell Orpurt;
Lieutenant Junior Grade Dwight Scott Pattee;
Seaman Apprentice Craig Allen Pennell;
Seaman Apprentice Jerome Pickett;
Yeoman Second Class Earl Frederick Preston,
Jr.;
Boiler Technician Third Class Lawrence John Reilly, Jr.;
Radarman Second Class Victor Thomas Rikal; Boatswain's Mate Second Class Gary Loren Sage;
Radarman Third Class Gregory Allen Sage; Seaman Apprentice Kelly Jo Sage; Seaman Apprentice John Alan Sauvey; Boiler Technician Fireman Apprentice Robert James Searle;
Fireman Apprentice Gerald Wayne Smith; Seaman Thurston Perry Smith, Jr.; Sonar Technician Second Class John Raymond Spray;
Lieutenant Junior Grade Jon Kenneth Stever; Seaman Apprentice Thomas Fred Tallon; Radarman Second Class Ronald Arthur Thibodeau;
Radarman Third Class Jon Wayne Thomas; Seaman Apprentice John Thomas Tolar; Quartermaster Third Class Gary Joseph Vigue;
Radarman Third Class Con Wesley Warnock; and Seaman Apprentice Henry Dennis West, III; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this thirtieth day of July, 2014, do hereby call upon the United States Congress to pass H.R. 4435, which will recognize the heroism and sacrifice of the 74 sailors lost aboard the USS Frank E. Evans on June 3, 1969 by urging the Secretary of Defense to add their names to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the names of courageous Chicagoans Jerome Pickett and Gerald Wayne Smith be added to Chicago's Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza and its display of the engraved names of the nearly 3,000 Illinois veterans lost during the war; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Delegation to the United States Congress as a sign of our dedication to and support of this important legislation.