By Laura Jowdy, Archivist & Historical Collections Manager, CMOHS

November is National Native American Heritage Month, and we are featuring the incredible story of Commander Ernest E. Evans, born into the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma in 1908.

“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.” Lt. Ernest E. Evans, at the commissioning of the USS Johnston, October 27, 1943.

October 25, 1944. Intense rain squalls blow through Leyte Bay off Samar Island’s beach head. Six U.S. escort carriers, designed as small aircraft carriers with lighter armor and weapons than their larger cousins, sit off the coast. Their planes provide air support as U.S. troops invade the island, part of a larger effort to break Japan’s hold on the Philippine Islands.

The USS Johnston (DD-557), commanded by Cdr. Ernest E. Evans, is one of the destroyers tasked with protecting the six escort carriers and their crucial aircraft. In total, the protective detail is three destroyers and four destroyer escorts… not much considering what is coming their way.

The night before, under cover of the heavy squalls, an entire complement of 23 heavily armed Japanese ships, including battleships and cruisers, were able to come around the island and head straight for the smaller, outgunned, outnumbered American ships.

And that is how the stage was set for one of the most epic battles of David versus Goliath in U.S. naval history.

Lt. Evans had been commanding officer of the Johnston and its crew of 327 men since its commissioning in October 1943. He had been born into the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma in 1908. After graduating high school, he tried to join the Marine Corps. When that didn’t pan out, he signed up for the Navy in 1926. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy in the late 1920s when American Indians were few and far between at the institution. He graduated in 1931 as an ensign.

Over a decade later, with the reports of the Japanese ships heading for them in the bay, he immediately orders his ship to lay down a smoke screen between the enemy and the escort carriers. The smoke made it harder for the Japanese to pinpoint the carriers… but the Johnston was out front and making a great target.

The other protective U.S. ships soon joined the Johnston. The U.S. ships’ guns didn’t have reach or firepower of the Japanese vessels. It wouldn’t be long before the enemy’s fire would reach them, and the U.S. wouldn’t even have gotten a shot in.

It soon became clear what had to happen. Lining up behind the smoke screen, the U.S. ships charged at the larger Japanese fleet. Evans led the way through the heavy enemy fire, expertly maneuvering the Johnston within range to fire volleys and torpedoes. One pass completed, the U.S. vessels retreated behind the smoke or in the rain squalls of the bay. Then in groups, they attacked from these blind spots, always putting themselves between the enemy and the U.S. escort carriers. For three hours, the ships and U.S. planes harried the Japanese fleet, pulling enemy fire away from the escort carriers.

Over the course of the battle, the Johnson lost engine power bit by bit to explosions and fires, which meant the ship’s rudder had to be steered by hand. Communication capabilities were lost. The bridge was destroyed. Injured, Evans simply moved his location to a secondary command center nearer to the aft of the ship. He shouted orders through a hatch to the men manning the rudder. Eventually, the Johnston could take no more. At 9:45 a.m., Evans gave the order to abandon ship. At 10:10, it rolled over and sunk beneath the waves.

Of the 327 crew, only 141 survived. It’s believed Cdr. Ernest Evans made it to a life raft, but he was never heard from again. At least 90 of the shipmates vanished into the ocean along with him.

In the end, the Japanese fleet withdrew after losing three vessels. Within days, that fleet would be all but destroyed in other conflicts around the Philippines.

The Johnston was lost for 76 years. It was finally located under four miles of sea in October 2019. The wreck was positively identified as the Johnston in March 2021. The other U.S. ships that went down that day—the Hoel, Samuel B. Roberts, and Gambier Bay remain missing.

In September 1945, Evans’ widow, Margaret, accepted the Medal of Honor on his behalf as his two sons looked on.