Lawrence Gerald EvertLieutenant Colonel354TH TAC FTR SQDN , 355TH TFW, 7TH AF United States Air Force 15 March 1938 - 29 November 1978 Cody, Wyoming Panel 29E Line 048 |
| |
  
|
|
The database page for Lawrence Gerald Evert
|
Last month I had the honor of visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean Memorial. I am touched to my heart by the loss of these gallant young men.
Carole Jordan |
|
I bought my POW bracelet when I was 10 years old
I still have the bracelet and a rubbing
I still pray
Louise McCall |
|
In the spring of 1989, I visited the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial on a school trip to Washington DC. I bought a bracelet with the name of Lt. Col. Lawrence G. Evert. I have worn it every day of my life since then, because when I bought it I made the commitment not to take it off until it was determined what had happened to him. I gave my name and address and was under the impression that I would be notified of any change of status. Today my father forwarded me the link to this website. My heart was literally pounding as I read the news about Lt. Col. Evert. I am pleased that his family finally have closure, and I am relieved that he did not suffer for months or years as a POW. I pray that he may rest in peace.
Barbara L. Harris |
|
My Mom and I both wore POW bracelets during the Vietnam War. Mine was Lawrence Evert. Her POW was one of the first ones back. After a few years, I gave up trying to find out what happened to "my" POW, until this week. I came across his name on a website and discovered that he was found and returned home. I just want to say, "Welcome home".
Deke Roberts |
To those who have gone before us.My name is Captain Lawrence Gage Evert and I am currently assigned to the 355th Fighter Squadron at Eielson AFB, Alaska where I fly the A-10 Warthog. I first learned about LTC Lawrence G. Evert by finding his POW/MIA bracelet while in college and enrolled in R.O.T.C. All these years I thought it was a strange coincidence but haven't researched it much until today. Last week I traveled back home to Cleveland, OH to visit friends and family. I drove down to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton Ohio, and discovered a plaque with the names of all the pilots who had died while serving in the 355th TFW in Vietnam. LTC Lawrence G. Evert was one of those names and motivated me to do a bit of research on the internet. I came across this website and thought I would try to contact his family. I thought maybe it would be nice for his surviving family members to know there is still a fighter pilot with the same name out there flying. I graduated and was commissioned from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio in 1999. I went to pilot training at Laughlin AFB, Laughlin Texas and was assigned to the A-10. I attended A-10 training at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ - the same base where the 354th Fighter Squadron "Bulldogs" are flying A-10's today. From Tucson, I went to my first active fighter squadron in the 23rd Fighter Group, the Flying Tigers, 75th Fighter Squadron at Pope AFB in Fayetteville N.C. After two years there, I moved to the 355th FS in Alaska. I currently have logged over 1,000 hours in the A-10, with over 350 combat hours in Afghanistan. I have participated in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan twice, and will be going back to Afghanistan for a third time early next year. Thanks for your time and hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely, |
|
Today my wife was going through a box of old jewlery and handed me a bracelet. The bracelet turned out to be the bracelet of Lawrence Evert. I put the bracelet on and my wife went online to see what we could find out. After a few minutes of research we realized that today is the anniversary of the loss of Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Gerald Evert. Our prayers and thoughts go out the his family. POW/MIA's ultimate sacrifice must never be forgotten.
Ron and Merri-Jo Lucas |
|
Capt. Lawrence G. Evert (Jerry) was my close friend and a fellow F-105 pilot in the 355th TFW during Aug-Nov 1967. We had both trained in the F-105 at Nellis AFB, Nev, from Jan-Jul 1967. We were roommates and attended jungle survival school at Clark AB, Phillipines, just prior to our assignment to the 355th TFW in Takhli RTAB, Thailand. Again, upon arrival at Takhli, we were both assigned to the 354th TFS, and roomed together in a hooch with about six other new arrivals to the squadron. Our first 10 missions at Takhli took about a month and were primarily designed to acquaint us to local orientation and wing combat flight procedures. These first few flights usually consisted of 2-ship formations with an IP (Instructor Pilot) assigned to destroy targets in less dangerous areas of Vietnam. After that we became full fledged flying members of the squadron in their daily missions to North Vietnam. These missions were generally carried out in 16-ship formations to the Hanoi area of North Vietnam. We flew most days either early in the morning or later in the afternoon. The flying was tough and the missions were long. We took many losses during Sep, Oct and Nov. I was shot down in late Oct, and luckily was recovered from the Gulf of Tonkin by our friendly US Navy (USS KING), that happened to be on station nearby. Later on in November Jerry was shot down near Hanoi, and we were unable to recover him at that time. Jerry was flying my wing that day, and I remember him calling on his radio, "I'm hit". We circled the area for several minutes trying to contact him by radio, or spotting him on the ground visually. We had no luck, and had to return to home base because we were low on fuel. We didn't hear anything else about his status until it was announced in 2001, that they thought that his F-105 had been located deep in the ground of North Vietnam. The next year he was identified and buried in Arizona. Jerry was a deeply religious man, and well respected by me and his fellow pilots at Takhli. He brought a trunk full of religious materials with him to Thailand, and was a leader in his church group at Takhli. Jerry and I ate and talked together many times during the period Sep-Nov 1967. I remember how proud he was of his family and the expected arrival of another child to his family in Dec 1967. I will never forget this "giant" of a man, who had so much "good" in him. I will always look up his name whenever I see "The Wall".
From a friend, |
|
I wore the bracelet of Captain Lawrence Evert for many years and still have it. At the declared end of the Vietnam War I tried in vain to find out the fate of CLE. For some reason it only occurred to me today to "Google" his name. So, today, so many years later, I sent my condolences to a very brave family and want to let them know I think of their father, husband, sibling often.
Gayle |
|
I am the youngest daughter of Captain Evert. I thank all of you who have taken the time to have posted your thoughts on here. It has been an amazing experience finding out after all of these years what happened to dad on that day so many years ago. This year marks the 40th year. I was due to be born on the day he was shot down. Because I never had the chance to meet my dad so sites like this one are nice to be able to go to and read about those that knew him, or wore his bracelet and thought of him through the years. I have learned he was a great man and I am honored to be his daughter.
From daughter, |
Notes from The Virtual WallOn 08 November 1967 a flight of four F-105D Thunderchief aircraft of the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron departed Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base on a strike mission targeted against the Phuc Yen railroad by-pass bridge. The target was located about 15 miles north-northwest of Hanoi in a flat, open, and densely populated region. The flight's radio call sign was BISON, and Captain Lawrence G. Evert was flying as wingman in the second section as BISON 04 in F-105D serial #61-0094.The BISON flight was uneventful until it approached the target area, at which time it encountered heavy 37mm anti-aircraft fire. The four BISON aircraft rolled in on the target in order, with BISON 04 last sighted as Evert began his roll-in. Evert made a radio call - "I'm hit" - and failed to rejoin off target. Another pilot sighted a white and gray cloud on the west side of the railroad by-pass bridge that could have been an aircraft impact, but no parachute was seen nor did Evert come up on his emergency radio. The intense threat made search and rescue operations impossible. On return to Takhli, strike camera footage did show the F-105 just prior to and for a few seconds following impact. Because there was the possibility that Evert ejected safely, he was classed as Missing in Action.
The Vietnamese never listed Evert as a POW, and when the POWs returned in 1973 they knew nothing of him. On 29 November 1978, eleven years after his loss, the Secretary of the Air Force approved a Presumptive Finding of Death, changing his status to Killed in Action/ Body not Recovered. Evert was promoted twice while missing in action, first to Major and then to Lieutenant Colonel.
In November 2000, President Bill Clinton made a state visit to Vietnam. Among other stops, he visited the site where Evert went down. Two of Evert's children, David and Daniel Evert, accompanied the President to the site, where excavations had begun earlier in the year. The excavations were completed in October 2001, and positive identification of Lawrence G. Evert's remains was announced on 30 January 2002.
Additional information is available on the |
|
The point-of-contact for this memorial is his daughter, Elizabeth Evert Meeks lizziemeeks@qwest.net |
|
Top of Page
 www.VirtualWall.org Back to |
With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 04 Jul 2002
Last updated 01/29/2008