S2c RICHARD H. CRINIGAN 21 August 1946

I Richard H. Crinigan “Dick” was born 7 August 1928, at Waterloo, Iowa. My hair was brown and I have green eyes. I entered the Navy at Waterloo on 4 June 1946, and went to boot camp in San Diego. On 21 August 1946, I reported on board USS FRANK E. EVANS (DD 754) for duty with the deck force in First Division.

Between September 1946 and April 1947, there was only a skeleton crew aboard all destroyers in the squadron. While I was aboard USS FRANK E. EVANS (DD 754) we went on a training exercise aboard USS JOHN W. THOMPSON (DD 760). Then I went to ET school at Treasure Island. EVANS was decommissioned by the time I finished school. I stayed in the reserve and retired as ETC.

Dick currently resides at 4318 “F” Avenue NW, Cedar Rapids, IA. You can reach him at (319)393-9308

I Frederick Charles Atkins was born 22 October 1922, at Passaic, New Jersey. My hair was brown and my eyes were blue. I entered naval service at An Arbor, Michigan in September 1940. My service aboard USS FRANK E EVANS DD-754 became official on 3 February 1945. My home at that time was listed as Maplewood, New Jersey. My assigned duty aboard FRANK E. EVANS as LTJG, was Torpedo Officer. Our first captain was “high speed Harry” Smith.

I was one of those who commissioned the ship at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 3 February 1945. We did shakedowns off Bermuda and then escorted the cruiser Amsterdam to Pearl Harbor, then to Okinawa for Radar Picket duty. I left EVANS in early July 1945 for briefing and training for Operation Olympia, the invasion of Kyushu. There were 220 of us sequestered in an old camp on Oahu island. Of interest, the FRANK E. EVANS was one of 11 destroyers scheduled for the first “close in“ shore bombardment. After the second atom bomb was dropped, we were ordered back to our ships.

While I was on my back, FRANK E. EVANS was part of a group that went to the north China to pick up General Wainwright who was in a POW camp in Mukden. The Russians had already flown him out. John Harrier or Druckenmiller are more aware of this.

We escorted the sixth? Marines into north China and the Army in Korea. From October 1945, until I left FRANK E. EVANS in January 1946, we acted as mail ship and courier between Inchon and Pusan, Korea, and Tsingtao and Shanghai, China.

Fred currently resides in North Carolina.

WT2c John Milton Adock Jr.

3 February 1945

John Milton Adcock enlisted in the U. S. Navy on 15 January 1941 and served on board USS FRANK E EVANS DD754 for two years, since 3 February 1945. He was there on commissioning day and when she sailed for the first time. He is known as a Plank Holder. John was a Water Tender second class. When FRANK E. EVANS celebrated Christmas for the first time, she was in Shanghai, China. John Adcock had sent home this Christmas card.