Some of you NE Nebraskans and military guys may already know about this but I found this to be pretty neat. This morning my fiance and I went to the Niobrara Memorial Day service and this afternoon we will go to the dedication of the "Lost 74 Memorial" in Niobrara. For those of you that don't know, the Lost 74 are 74 sailors that died in the South China Sea in 1969 as a result of the collision of their destroyer, USS Frank E. Evans, and an Australian Carrier, HMAS Melbourne. They are considered the Lost 74 as their names have not been allowed on to the Vietnam Memorial yet due to the collision happening outside of the official combat zone.
Well I ran in to a guy by the name of Del Francis, who was a sailor on the Evans and a close friend of the Sage Brothers. Got to talking to him a bit and he told me about the efforts he is going to to get the 74 recognized on the Vietnam Memorial. Starting Friday, the 47th Anniversary of the incident, he will be riding his bicycle from his home in Sulfer Springs, TX to the steps of the capital building in Washington D.C. to raise support in getting the names of the 74 added to the memorial. He just turned 74 years old last week and is still taking on the challenge. I just thought it'd be a good thing for people to support him as he gives it a shot. He has information on his journey on Facebook at his Ride for Recognition page. I believe he said he will be updating that as he goes. I was hoping he'd be making his way closer to Nebraska but it sounds like the closest he will get is Joplin, Missouri.
Well I ran in to a guy by the name of Del Francis, who was a sailor on the Evans and a close friend of the Sage Brothers. Got to talking to him a bit and he told me about the efforts he is going to to get the 74 recognized on the Vietnam Memorial. Starting Friday, the 47th Anniversary of the incident, he will be riding his bicycle from his home in Sulfer Springs, TX to the steps of the capital building in Washington D.C. to raise support in getting the names of the 74 added to the memorial. He just turned 74 years old last week and is still taking on the challenge. I just thought it'd be a good thing for people to support him as he gives it a shot. He has information on his journey on Facebook at his Ride for Recognition page. I believe he said he will be updating that as he goes. I was hoping he'd be making his way closer to Nebraska but it sounds like the closest he will get is Joplin, Missouri.
