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| Lt. Hebert Evans was C-46 copilot flying over the "hump" from India to China. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15158195 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/517491813410246748/?lp=true |
Herbert William Evans never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 29, 1917 in South Dakota. His mother was born in Minnesota and his father was born in Maryland. Herbert had an older brother and an older sister. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1939 and worked at a radio station and newspaper.
He enlisted in the Army Air Forces on March 10, 1943. He became a copilot and first lieutenant in the 930th Ferrying Squadron, India-China Wing, Air Transport Command, 10th Air Force where he flew C-46 Commando transports. (The 930th Ferrying Squad is an error because it did not exist. I am not sure what his actual ferrying squad was.) Lt. Evans flew missions that brought supplies from India to China by flying over the Himalayan Mountains.
On March 27, 1944 Lt. Evans and three other airmen took off in their C-46 from an airfield in Kunming, China. As the plane reached the Himalayan Mountains, the radio operator sent a request for bearings. The plane never finished it's flight and it's fate remained unknown until after the war. The crash site was identified in 1946, but no effort was made to retrieve the remains at the time. Once the Communists took control of China that was not a viable option.
Mrs. Evans ordered a headstone for a cenotaph grave in 1960. In 2001 his remains were finally returned from China and he was finally buried next to his parents. His then 96 year old sister was still alive at the time.
His grave is at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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