Arthur Reginald Evans

Sub-Lieutenant Arthur Reginald Evans DSC RANVR was an Australian coastwatcher [Danger Makers The Sea Hunters II Index [http://www.geocities.com/dangermakersresearch/Indexes/Ships/SeaHunters2/NamesAM.html ] ] who secretly manned an observation post atop Kolombangara Island while over 10,000 Japanese soldiers were camped at Vila, on the southeastern tip of the same circular volcanic island.

Evans spotted the explosion of John F. Kennedy's boat PT-109 during World War II on 2 August 1943, but did not realize at the time it was an Allied loss. Evans later received and decoded the message that the PT-109 was missing, and he dispatched Solomon Islander scouts Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana in dugout canoes to find the crew.

Unlike Gasa and Kumana, who were turned back by officials who were unable to communicate with them in English, Evans met with John F. Kennedy after he became President of the United States, visiting the White House on 1 May 1961, as noted in Kennedy's White House diary.

Popular Culture

Evans would be mentioned by name in Jimmy Dean's PT-109 song, the Warner Brothers PT-109 movie, and a 2002 National Geographic special. He was even cast as Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter in a 2006 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAXzQIPBCY4 video spoof] of the song. In the 1963 movie, it was remarked what kind of a job it would be "it's a lonely job, if he's found, that's how he's going to die".

References

External links

* [http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfkl/modules/diary/default.aspx?y=1961&m=5&d=1 JFK Library Diary May 1, 1961] 11:57 a.m - 12:20 p.m."Meeting with A.R. "Reg" Evans, the Australian coast watcher who helped rescue the crew of PT 109 in 1943"