Bob Evans joined the Navy at the age of seventeen, after his brother had been mortally wounded in the Pearl harbor attack. As a member of the Navy Amphibious forces, Evans helped land men, tanks and equipment during the invasions of Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinowa. Evans was a crew member of an LST landing craft, so important in any invason. Although the LSTs were always under heavy fire during landings, Evans came closest to death when his LST was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Spain. If Evans hadn't stopped for coffee before returning to his cabin after watch, he would have been killed, along with his two best friends when the torpedo hit that area. The torpedo caused the LST to break in half and sink. Evans was rescued by a destroyer after several hours in the water. After his part in the landings at Iwo Jima and Okinowa, Evans was preparing for the biggest invasion of the war, the invasion of Japan. He feels that the dropping of the atomic bomb saved his life, as well as thousands of other lives.
Joan Hallmark, reporting.
