Captain Ernest E. Evans was a war hero during World War II, known primarily for his bravery and leadership during the Battle off Samar. Evans enlisted in the United States Navy in May of 1926 and after thirteen months he earned his admission to the Naval Academy. His classmates at the academy gave him the nickname “The Chief” because of his natural leadership ability and proud Native American heritage.
On October 27, 1943 Evans became captain of the newly commissioned USS Johnston. During the commissioning ceremony he told his sailors, “this is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now. Now that I have a fighting ship, I will never retreat from an enemy force”. Evans’ determination to fight the enemy was likely influenced by his experience during the Battle of Java Sea where the Japanese Navy prevailed over the Allied fleet.
However, as James Hornfischer wrote, “a vessel draws life from the spirit of her crew, which derives in large part from the leadership qualities of her chiefs and officers”. Thus, Evans knew that if he wanted a fighting ship he would need leaders that could instill a fighting spirit in the ship’s crew. Evans entrusted Lieutenant Robert Hagen with this responsibility.
“He had great faith in all of us, unbelievably so. I don’t recall him saying a mean word to me the whole time…the captain was a true, instinctive fighter…we were on a high-class ship because the captain was high-class”, recalled Lieutenant Hagen. Hagen forged a fighting crew through ruthless and repetitive drill.
Captain Evans lived up to his commissioning day promise when the USS Johnston engaged in battle with the Japanese Navy during the Battle off Samar. He would be the ship’s first and final captain.
USS Johnston (DD-557)
Battle off Samar
The Battle off Samar was a part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf, which took place in the Philippine Sea. It saw a small but determined force of U.S. Navy carriers and destroyers take on a powerful and mighty fleet of Imperial Japanese ships, which consisted of the biggest battleship the world had ever seen, the Yamato, and twenty two of its best friends. It would be an understatement to write that the U.S. was outmanned and outgunned. The Yamato alone weighed about as much as all the U.S. ships combined, with each of its main guns individually weighing more than the entire USS Johnston. During the Battle of Savo Island the Japanese decimated the allied forces in just six minutes. During the American victory at Midway U.S. dive-bombers had wiped out most of a Japanese carrier task force in four decisive minutes. The odds were not in favor of the U.S. Navy’s small task force to survive even that long. The USS Johnston, in particular, faced an impossible task, taking on heavy cruisers and battleships, with firepower coming from vessels up to thirty-five times her size. The Johnston was in for the fight of her life. A great challenge was coming, and with Ernest Evans at the helm the challenge would be met.
The Japanese Navy had sighted what they believed to be a large U.S. task force of four or five carriers escorted by approximately ten heavy cruisers and a few battleships. However, the force that the Japanese encountered was actually Taffy 3, which consisted of six escort carriers, three destroyers, and four destroyer escorts. The Japanese engaged Taffy 3 and they came under heavy fire. The most powerful shells available to the ships of Taffy 3 were the fifty-four-pound shells fired from their five inch guns. However, not even these were strong enough to penetrate cruiser or battleship armor. In addition to that, they had a short range of just seven miles. Even the smallest Japanese ships they faced had shells that could be fired more than twenty miles. The Japanese were capable of wiping out the U.S. ships well before they came within seven miles. This knowledge was not lost on Captain Evans. He recognized the Taffy 3’s predicament and would uphold his responsibility to protect the escort carriers. Captain Evans ordered his ship to charge the enemy solo.
(Beginning of Battle off Samar)
Because the Johnston’s five inch guns were ineffective, Evans knew they would have to rely on their torpedoes to do significant damage.They began charging the Japanese fleet at 35,000 yards and would have to get within 10,000 (about five miles) before they could fire their torpedoes. Lt. Hagen described Captain Evans as “a captain who could strike fighting spirit from his men the way steel strikes spark from a flint”. If there was any crew prepared to overcome these long odds, it was the USS Johnston.
Captain Evans began by ordering his men to generate a smoke screen. This smoke screen was generated from the rear of the ship, shrouding everything behind it. The Johnston, vulnerable to Japanese fire, employed a tactic where they ‘chased shell splashes’. This essentially meant that the ship would go where shells missed because the Japanese were unlikely to fire there twice.
During this time, the Johnston’s five inch guns fired hundreds of rounds, landing forty hits on the Kumano. The hits reduced the Kumano’s accuracy so much that they failed to land a single shot in return. Miraculously, they managed to make it to within 10,000 yards without a single hit. Evans’ ordered his crew to fire all ten of his ship’s torpedoes at the enemy, striking the Kumano in the process. The hit on the Kumano crippled it enough to where it fell out of line. After firing their torpedoes, Evans had ordered his ship to turn around and return to formation. They were able to find some cover in the smoke screen, but it was during this retreat that the Japanese were finally able to strike the Johnston. The Japanese ship, the Kongo, hit the Johnston three times, knocking out power belowdecks as well as their port side screw. This hit was consequential as it cut their speed in half to 18 knots.
These hits manifested harm, the likes of which Captain Evans promised on commissioning day. The next salvo that came from the Japanese hit the bridge, killing many. Captain Evans himself lost two fingers and had shrapnel lodged in various parts of his body. In addition to that, some of the ship’s five inch guns lost power. “The Johnston was a mess. There were dead men on the deck and gaping holes from the fourteen-inch shells” said Hagen. As the Johnston limped back to formation, Admiral Sprague ordered his destroyers to attack and as long as the ship had guns that could fire Evans would continue to fight. “Oh, dear Lord, I’m in for a swim, Bob Hagen said to himself”.
(USS Johnston attempts to assist the Gambier Bay)
Despite taking heavy damage and using all of its torpedoes, the Johnston found itself fighting the Kongo, the ship that landed the first salvo against it. The Johnston landed 15 inconsequential hits before Captain Evans realized one of the escort carriers they needed to protect, the Gambier Bay, was under heavy fire. He ordered his men to redirect their fire on the cruiser that was pummeling the Gambier bay in an attempt to draw its attention away. The cruiser continued to focus on the Gambier Bay despite the Johnston’s efforts.
(Desron 10 enters the fray)
Before the Johnston could double down on their efforts four new Japanese destroyers and a light cruiser entered the fray. Evans decided to refocus their efforts and charged westward toward this new threat. As a result, they took several hits but landed twelve on the light cruiser. This caused the light cruiser, the Yahagi, to break formation and withdrawal. They then focused on the remaining destroyers. The Johnston’s five inch shells were able to do significant damage to one destroyer, causing it to flee with the Yahagi. The remaining three destroyers followed suit.
“According to Hagen, “[Captain] Evans, feeling like the skipper of a battleship, was so elated he could hardly talk. He strutted across his bridge and chortled, ‘Now I’ve seen everything!’”. However, it was not the Johnston’s offensive barrage of shells that caused them to flee. The Japanese had succeeded in firing their torpedoes at the carriers and turned to reform. It is entirely possible that the Johnston’s attack influenced the Japanese to launch their torpedoes prematurely and at extreme range, drastically reducing their accuracy.
The Johnston, as damaged as she was, continued to fight. She was caught in a crossfire between enemy destroyers and cruisers where she was continuously rocked by series of blasts. The Johnston alternated between its enemies, firing desperately at them hoping that they could still protect the escort carriers. The Japanese would ultimately land a hit that stopped the Johnston’s remaining screw, leaving her dead in the water. The Japanese destroyers surrounded the Johnston and bombarded it, ensuring its final resting place under the Philippine Sea. With that, the Johnston’s two and a half hour fight was over, and Captain Evans gave the order to abandon ship.
The Legacy of Captain Evans
The fate of Captain Evans following his order to abandon ship remains uncertain. Some of the survivors speculate that he tried to escape on one of their life rafts, while others speculate he went down with his ship. Regardless of what happened to the captain, his leadership and bravery made him a hero, and his legacy lives on as an inspiration to those today. Evans was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle off Samar. The official citation can be read below:
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Johnston in action against major units of the Japanese fleet during the battle off Samar on 25 October 1944. The first to lay a smoke screen and to open fire as an enemy task force, vastly superior in number, firepower, and armor, rapidly approached, Comdr. Evans gallantly diverted the powerful blasts of hostile guns from the lightly armed and armored carriers under his protection, launching the first torpedo attack when the Johnston came under straddling Japanese shellfire. Undaunted by damage sustained under the terrific volume of fire, he unhesitatingly joined others of his group to provide fire support during subsequent torpedo attacks against the Japanese and, outshooting and outmaneuvering the enemy as he consistently interposed his vessel between the hostile fleet units and our carriers despite the crippling loss of engine power and communications with steering aft, shifted command to the fantail, shouted steering orders through an open hatch to men turning the rudder by hand, and battled furiously until the Johnston, burning and shuddering from a mortal blow, lay dead in the water after three hours of fierce combat. Seriously wounded early in the engagement, Comdr. Evans, by his indomitable courage and brilliant professional skill, aided materially in turning back the enemy during a critical phase of the action. His valiant fighting spirit throughout this historic battle will venture as an inspiration to all who served with him”.
(Survivors of the USS Johnston boarding their life raft)
Works Cited
“Ernest Edwin Evans.” Congressional Medal of Honor Society, https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/ernest-edwin-chief-evans#:~:text=For%20conspicuous%20gallantry%20and%20intrepidity,Samar%20on%2025%20October%201944.
Hornfischer, James D. “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour”. Bantam Books, 2004.
USS Johnston (DD-557). “Action Report, Kwajalein Atoll.” Serial 03, Feb. 3, 1944.
Deac, Wilfred P. “The Battle off Samar.” American Heritage, Dec. 1966, p. 20.
Hagen, Robert C, as told to Sidney Shalett. “We Asked for the Jap Fleet—and Got It!”. Saturday Evening Post, May 26, 1945, p. 9.
MacDonald, Scot. “Small Boys off Samar: ‘… Survival Could Not Be Expected.’” Surface Warfare, Feb. 1980, p. 13.
Whitney, Harold E. “The Battle of Samar.” Our Navy, Nov. 1, 1946, p. 12.
Mercer, Bill [S1, USS Johnston]. “GQ Johnny: A Very Short Story.” Undated narrative. Courtesy of Bill Mercer
Mercer, Bill, and Bob Chastain, eds. The Fighting and Sinking of the USS Johnston (DD-557) as Told by Her Crew [collecting many survivors’ narratives]. USS Johnston/Hoel Association, 1991. www.ussjohnston-hoel.bigstep.com.
Sochor, Bob [S1, USS Johnston]. “Come Hell and High Water.” Apr. 14, 1991. www.bosamar.com/sochor.html; last visited by author Jan. 19, 2001.
Welch, Ellsworth [Lt. (jg), USS Johnston]. Untitled Memorial Day address. May 30, 1994. Courtesy of Ellsworth Welch.
Astor, Gerald. Crisis in the Pacific: The Battles of the Philippine Islands by the Men Who Fought Them. Donald I. Fine, 1996.
Ito, Masanori, with Roger Pineau. The End of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Translated by Andrew Y. Kuroda and Roger Pineau. W. W. Norton, 1962.
Spurr, Russell. A Glorious Way to Die: The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato April 1945., Newmarket Press, 1981.