I was emailed this (Thanks Bruce) and I never knew anything about it. This is reprinted from home.ici.net/~cpopina/whathapp.htm . It is a site about Destroyers that were commisioned in 1945 and their fate.

DD-754 USS FRANK E. EVANS - 2/3/45
Named after Navy Cross recipient Brigadier General Frank Edgar Evans, USMC.
Served with distinction in the Marine Brigade
of the American ExpeditionaryForce in France.
Cut in half in collision with HMAS MELBOURNE (R-21) off Luzon on 6-3-69,
(bow section sunk), with the loss of 74 shipmates.
The stern half was sunk by the USS COCHRANE (DDG-21) by torpedo
in gunnery exercises in Subic Bay on 10-10-69.



MM2 83-85

I remember that we operated with the Evans a few times, and perhaps we should include the lost destroyermen in our ceremony.

I was aboard when this occured, my station was the gun director above the bridge. That old ship took alot of hits before sinking but I think some other ships were invloved also. Does anyone remember the Aussie DDG that was hit by a wayward heat seeking missile that struck the 51 radar room killing a few sailors, they had it tied up in Subic... I think it was in '69!!!

Allan R. Harris

I believe that was in 68....
An Intruder fired at a 430 ft long helicopter making 30 knots....turned out to be the Hobart, I think. Some considered her to be our sister ship...She took our place on the gunline while we went into Subic to have our gun barrels replaced. There was a problem in that the power casings seperated just about three or so inches above the end, leaving the rest of the casing in the barrell..don't know if that happened to us or not, but the Hobart was hit within the next two days after we left for Subic.

PREMO - ETR2 - JUL 66 to JAN 69

I remember it like Horace does. Pretty sure that it was 68. I was gone before 69.

Don Reed
MM2 6/66-11/68

Yep,
The Hobart was hit by "friendly fire" in 68 pretty much as Primo described it. We went alongside at night after leaving Subic at top speed to replace her on station and to pick up some radios and code books for communication with the spotters on the beach. She was hit with a sparrow heat seeking missle in the aft funnel with 13 dead as I recall. I do remember being pretty tense as my GQ station was in the ET shop next to the aft funnel. It was weeks before they knew about the missle hit. Until they found the missle debris, everyone thought it was a shore battery hit.

"Ski" ETN2 (June 66 to Aug 68)