![]() Henry Cotheal Evans, Jr. Colonel, United States Army |
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Henry
C. Evans, Jr., Colonel
Born August 12, 1928 – Died August 30, 2006 ![]() Henry Cotheal "Hank" Evans, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 12 August 1928 and was appointed to West Point on a Senatorial appointment. His West Point classmates recall: "Henry, known to us as a `man of average intelligence,' came to the Point from Baltimore. Though he had worries with studies, he proved himself more than average in making friends and in getting a job done. In sports, lacrosse kept Henry busy the year round. There may be better players but none worked harder to make the team. With his spirit and determination he need not worry about success." During his cadet days Hank went out for LaCrosse all four years and earned a Monogram and was on the Debate Council all four years as well; he went out for the Concert Orchestra plebe year, was with the Spanish Club plebe and yearling years; was an Acolyte yearling, cow, and first class years; on the Ticket Committee cow and first class years; and was a Cadet Company First Sergeant his first class year. Upon graduation Hank went in the Artillery and after completing the Basic Artillery Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma reported to the Anti-Aircraft Gun Battalion at Fort Totten where he served from 1951 to 1952. Hank's next assignment was to Korea with the 40th Division where he served from 1952 to 1953 and was awarded a Commendation Ribbon. From 1959 to 1961 Hank served at Headquarters, 3rd Division Artillery and in 1962 attended the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on completion of which he was at the University of Arizona from 1962 to 1964. Next Hank went to Office Assistant Chief of Staff, Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Georgia, Department of the Army where he served until 1967 and was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services. In 1967 Hank earned a Masters degree in Public Administration from the George Washington University and was then appointed Battalion Commander with the 16th Artillery and simultaneously was G5 of the 4th Division, Republic of Vietnam where he served until 1968 and was decorated with a second Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services; the Bronze Star Medal (valor) for distinguished heroism against an enemy; and two Air Medals for meritorious achievement beyond that normally expected, while participating in aerial flight. On return to stateside Hank went to Headquarters, Army Combat Development Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia where he served from 1968 to 1969 when he was selected to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley McNair with the resident class of 1970. Hank's next assignment was to ODDRE where he served from 1970 to 1971 when he was named Commanding Officer of the 559th Artillery Group in Italy and served until 1974. Next Hank went to Headquarters, United States Army Reserve Europe where he served until 1975 when he accepted his last military assignment with the Office, Joint Chiefs of Staff where he served from 1975 to 1977 when he retired from the United States Army as a Colonel. On retirement Hank accepted a position as Project Manager with Jacor until 1983 when he went with R & D Associates and was with them until 1985 when he was named a Senior Engineer with Martin Marietta in 1985. In 1990 Hank went back to school and earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Denver. Hank and his wife Mary Agnes made their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. However, the May 1995 Assembly noted, "Hank Evans retired from Martin Marietta in August 1994 after commuting between Orlando and Livermore Labs every week. It finally wore him down; he had a pacemaker installed last May. Hank and Agnes were sitting grandchildren so that daughter Edith could join her husband Bob Hyatt, Jr. son of Bob and Tinky Hyatt, on a business trip." Hank died on August 30, 2006 of cancer. José Andrés Chacón
Originally published September 4, 2006 Colonel Henry Cotheal Evans Jr., a career Army officer and decorated veteran of two wars who raised golden retrievers and had been active in dog shows in the Baltimore, Maryland, area, died of lymphoma Wednesday at Capital Hospice in Fairfax, Virginia. He was 78. A Baltimore native and 1946 graduate of Loyola High School, he attended Georgetown University for two years and graduated in 1951 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. In 1952, he was deployed to Korea and served in combat. Two years later, he married Mary-Agnes Donnelly Moore, whom he had met at a church wedding in Mount Washington. "He was just home from Korea, and he was a very handsome young man and had a future in the Army," Mrs. Evans said yesterday. "It was just kind of love at first sight." The couple moved to Germany with their son in 1958 when Colonel Evans was assigned there as a battery commander. The couple had two daughters and another son before leaving Germany in 1961. Colonel Evans graduated from the Army's Command and General Staff Course in 1962, and moved his family to Tucson, Ariz., where he studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Arizona. He then worked at the Pentagon for three years, overseeing Army flight instruction. His next assignment was in Vietnam, commanding a 4th Infantry Division medium and heavy artillery battalion in combat. His decorations there included the Bronze Star, two Air Medals, and the Vietnamese Gold Star Medal. In 1970, Colonel Evans graduated from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair in Washington. In the Office of the Army Chief of Research and Development, he became involved in development of the self-propelled howitzer. From 1972 to 1976, he was stationed in Italy and Germany, and then he returned to the Pentagon as a division chief in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We moved 21 times and had a very nice life wherever we were," Mrs. Evans said. Colonel Evans retired from the Army in 1977 and began working in aerospace engineering in Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo., with Martin Marietta Corp. His love of golden retrievers dated to that time, the family said. "My father had two passions: the military, which was an expression of his sense of duty, and the other was animals," said his son Daniel D. Evans of Baltimore. "Even as a boy, he raised homing pigeons and gave them to a military division. He trained them so well, they kept coming back to the house." Colonel Evans participated in the Westminster Dog Show at New York's Madison Square Garden, his son said. In 1996, Colonel Evans and his family moved back to Baltimore, where he was a member of the Maryland Gunpowder River Golden Retriever Club. He often judged dog shows and earned American Kennel Club titles for his own dogs in obedience, tracking and agility trials, his son said. Colonel Evans had also been an avid runner and participated in 17 marathons, and over the years, he remained involved with his West Point class, his son said. "He would travel to funerals and was in charge of sending flowers to fallen classmates' family," said his son. "And almost every year, he'd go to the Army-Navy game, wherever it was." A Mass of Christian burial and interment are planned for 11:45 a.m. Octoner 31, 2006, at Arlington National Cemetery. Survivors also include another son, Henry C.
Evans III of Lawton, Oklahome; three daughters, Elizabeth E. Hardner of
Fullerton, California, Edith E. Hyatt of Fairfax Station, Virginia, and
Mary-Agnes E. Moreland of Baltimore; and 10 grandchildren.
A Tradition of Ballad and Song A family tradition, as the ballad continues,
we mourn today a soldier’s song.
He was groomed to stand upon his father’s stars,
a General of two world wars.
He stepped upon Georgetown University’s ivy
lined stairs at seventeen, a premed.
From Korea, to Vietnam, to the Cold War, to
Star Wars, to back and forth from beyond.
A lifetime learner, Degrees and Masters
hang upon the walls, a hallmark of a scholar.
His family moved in hum, twenty-one times from
west to east, following the rhythm of the sun.
As a boy, he trained pigeons in code, honed
to return. Then he turned to dogs, agility, intelligence to test.
As I write a lifetime of words across the page,
a generation of ballad and song is continued.
With all my love, I say Adieu. Written by,
The Old Guard at Arlington Outside the Old Post Chapel walls,
Turning my head towards outside shadows,
The guards lifted the body into their gentle
hands,
They took the soldier, mounted him on caisson,
I walked behind horse's hooves,
Looking beyond, white crosses aligned
in V's, row after row,
Giving with love, in patriotic honor,
Thank You For Guarding the Best,
Webmaster: Michael
Robert Patterson
Posted: 4 September 2006 Updated: 25 November 2006 Updated: 18 March 2008 |
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