NIOBRARA — On a quiet Sunday afternoon in Niobrara, a group of family and friends remembered the death of three native sons by celebrating the 50th anniversary of the tragic event — the sinking of the USS Frank Evans — where they perished.
“It was just a week ago I talked with Navy veteran Darwin Sietsema about his annual pilgrimage to Niobrara to commemorate the death of the Sage Brothers,” said Bernie Hunhoff.
Hunhoff wrote a story about the Minnesota man and his efforts to pay his respects to the deceased sailors since he heard about the dedication of the Sage Brothers Memorial in Niobrara.
Together with the Niobrara American Legion commander, Jim Scott, a memorial program was set up for Sunday, the anniversary date, which included the reading of the names of each of the 74 deceased sailors, followed by the traditional ringing of the bell.
Fifty years ago, on June 3, at 3 a.m. Vietnamese time, the USS Frank Evans, an American destroyer was set on a course to enter the exercise Operation Sea Spirit for maneuvers.
So was the Australian Aircraft Melbourne. In the dark of night in the South China Sea, the Melbourne sliced the destroyer in half. When the three brothers left the family farm to join the Navy, Gary, Greg and Kelly Sage obtained special permission to serve together on the same sea vessel.
It was reported when the collision occurred, Gary, the oldest at 21 years of age, was on the stern of the 376-foot ship and jumped to join his brothers in the bow. All the sailors on the bow perished, most sleeping in their bunks, unaware of the tragedy to come. All 199 sailors on the stern survived.
The distress call from the USS Frank Evans was picked up by the James E. Kyle, only a few miles from the collision.
Sietsema was serving on the Kyle.
"Right away, we launched our small boats, but we felt helpless," Sietsema said. "There was nothing you could do. It was over with."
It was later determined by the U.S. Dept. of Defense the incident did not occur in an area considered to be part of the Vietnam conflict and therefore, the deceased sailors were not honored as sailors who perished in the line of battle and neither were the benefits normally received by the families of fallen soldiers awarded to the Sage family.
Their names were not listed on the Vietnam Memorial.
When Sietsema learned of the Niobrara Memorial created by the community to honor their fallen native sons, he began his pilgrimage. He would be at the memorial at 3 a.m. every year on June 3, until Hunhoff pointed out, the actual time here with the 12-hour time difference would be 3 p.m.
“I have a need to keep the memory of the 74 sailors alive,” Sietsema said. “Their names should be on the Vietnam wall, plain and simple.”
In the ceremony Sunday, Sietsema told the Niobrara residents he has remained dedicated to the memory of the 74 sailors and continues to work to push Congress to add these names to the Vietnam Wall.
He graciously thanked the community’s work to build the Sage Memorial and for being part of the memorial ceremony.
“Do you remember where you were 50 years ago, exactly right now?” Sietsema said looking at his watch. “Well, I do. I was there after the Evans sunk and I will never forget it.”
