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I remember the night very well. I was on the USS Kearsarge watching from the port side catwalk as helos serched the water for survivors. I remember the survivors being brought to the hangar bay where a temporary triage was set up to treat the wounded. Another area was cordoned off for body bags until the dead could be transferred below to refrigeration units.
What I remember most was the surealistic conditions that night. The sea was glass smooth with flying fish from the wake providing the only disturbance to an otherwise mirror surface. The colored navigation lights and bright searchlights added reflections to a scene that I never saw repeated in my four years of shipboard service on the Kearsarge and later USS Coral Sea.
I find it appalling that the 74 sailors lost have not been recognized by the US military as Vietnam casualties. These men deserve to be listed on the wall. We owe them that...

Kerry Owen
MR2
US Navy 1968-1972

I also remember that night very well, I was on the HMAS Parramatta, we were escorting USS Kearsarge during the exercise. I was on the bridge when the signal came out at 3.00am the fateful night. We were deployed to the seen approx 30km away. Like all there that night I could not understand what had happened as the conditions were perfect. We stayed in the area for most of that day and then were required to escort the Melbourne back to Singapore to review the damage. 24 Hours out of Singapore we were deployed to Subic Bay to take the role of communications link between the Board of Inquiry and the Australian Navy. We stayed there approx 3 weeks if memory serves me right. I must admit we were a bit nervous as to how the American Sailors and Public would take our presence when we went ashore for leave given what happened - remembering we didn't really know what or how this tragedy came about. All we new was that the Melbourne hit the Evans. I was one of the first to take leave and each and every American I met couldn't thank me enough for what and how the sailors on the Melbourne did to try and save those left on the Evans. I must admit I was proud and at the same time devastated at knowing how many lives were lost. I really think out of this tragedy a special bond was created between the 2 navies. Yes I agree some sort of remembrance is deserved.