HomeMy WebLinkAboutOran D. Evans, Brazos Valley Heroes-~ p~NG ~
By Bill Youngkin
Special to The Eagle
Some people claim to be lucky, but Oran D. Evans
claims to have had a guardian angel. He may be right,
because Evans has a history of several close calls with
death that lasted through 25 missions during his time
of service in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
Evans' story began on a farm in Mexhoma,
Oklahoma, on June 6, 1922. He lived there until the
Dust Bowl became a reality and drove his family away.
Evans' guardian angel started watching over him at an
early age in Mexhoma. As he related:
"I was old enough to tend to the cows and was
going out to herd them to the barn for milking. My
mother always planted cherry tomatoes in the garden,
and I really loved them. I grabbed a handful on my
way to get the cows. I was out of sight of everyone
when I tossed one tomato in the air, catching it in my
mouth. Except it stuck in my throat. I couldn't breathe,
but something made me squeeze my throat where the
tomato was stuck. I did and the tomato burst and I
could breathe again.
"Another time a couple of years later, I and a friend
of mine dug a cave into a creek bank near our farm.
Not knowing about the dangers of a cave-in, we dug
back under the creek bank about 12 feet or so. We had
just crawled out when it caved in. Had we stayed in our
cave we would have been buried alive, and I doubt if
anyone would have ever found us, certainly not alive."
The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl hit at the
same time for the Evans family. They and thousands
of others had to move away. Evans' father eventually
landed a job in the oil fields of South Texas, and Evans
finished his schooling at Sinton, Texas. His guardian
angel events continued.
"When I was about 15, I hitchhiked to Colorado
to visit some relatives and was going to hop a train
to go back home. Before I could catch the train I ran
an errand for a couple of drifters who paid me some
money to buy them some Bay Rum at the 5&10 store.
When 1 returned to the train yard, my train had pulled
out. That train derailed between Colorado Springs and
Pueblo, killing almost everyone on board."
The episodes of Evans' guardian angel continued
with his volunteering for the Army Air Corps and the
missions he would fly as a ball turret gunner on a B-17
over Germany.
"When the war started I was working in San
Antonio. I and three of my buddies decided to volunteer
for pilot training in the army. We took all the tests and
we all passed. They received orders to the same
place but mine were to Sheppard Field. When I got to
Sheppard Field, I found out my orders were wrong and
I should have been sent with them. I had to retake all
the tests again and was eventually sent to University
of Nevada at Reno for school. The army now had an
educational requirement, and due to my lack of any
higher education, I had to achieve about two years of
college work in less than ayear - which I did, but not
without a lot of hard work.
"My friends from San Antonio were now pilots and
we kept up with each other, primarily through letters
to our parents who lived near each other. By the time I
finished the education portion of the program, all three
had been shot down and killed.
"My class, because of an overabundance of pilots
and pilots in training, was terminated. Since I had
volunteered originally, I was given the opportunity to go
to gunny school. The others who did not volunteer but
were drafted were set straight to the infantry. I excelled
at gunnery school and was given to option of being an
instructor but opted to fly.
"I became a part of a B-17 crew sent to England
and became part of the 95th Bomb Group. Our crew of
nine men flew 25 missions together, but my guardian
angel didn't leave me. Most of the time we would be
assigned a plane ahead of time, but one morning at
briefing before we left on a bombing mission, the plane
we were to be was assigned was assigned to another
crew and our crew flew a different plane.
"During the mission we came under heavy anti
aircraft fire. All the planes had their bomb doors
underneath the plane open. I had just turned my turret
and was looking directly ahead of us at the plane we
had originally been assigned. One moment it was there,
the next second it exploded and was gone.
"Our plane continued to be lucky with no injuries
until one day when a piece of shrapnel tore through my
turret. It hit my face mask, ripping it off my head and
cutting my face at the corner of my left eye. I bled a lot,
but had a white scarf around my neck and was able to
stop the blood after a while.
"When we returned to base, there were some
Red Cross girls passing out coffee and doughnuts. I
stopped to get some, and when the girl saw all the
blood on my face and the scarf, she screamed and fell
down. The MP's came over and grabbed me thinking
I had pinched her or something, until they saw all that
blood.
"Our crew flew 25 missions with that being our
only injury. When the war ended and we returned
home we promised to keep in touch, and we have. In
1993 all nine of us and who lived all over the country
got together in Wichita, Kansas. Since that time we've
lost four of the crew, but my guardian angel continues
to be with me as I continue to have good health and a
good life."
If you want to have a name added to the Veterans
Memorial, for more information, to make a contribution,
or if you know a World War 11 veteran whose story needs
to be told, contactthe BWMat www. veteransmemorial.
org or Bill Youngkin at (979) 260-7030.