Jacksonville memorial honors 74 sailors killed in USS Frank E Evans disaster

Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville is now home to a memorial that honors 74 sailors who lost their lives aboard a destroyer in 1969.

Part of USS Frank E. Evans sank after it collided with an Australian ship on June 3, 1969.

Forty-nine years after the disaster, a memorial was unveiled in Jacksonville.

It honors Charles Cannington and the 73 other sailors who were not able to escape the sinking ship.

Cannington was a chief hospital corpsman who was stationed at Naval Hospital Jacksonville before he was received for duty aboard Frank Evans in June 1968.

The Frank E Evans Association historians say Cannington planned to move back to Jacksonville to be with his wife and son but said he wanted one last sea tour before he retired.

He was asleep on the ship when he was thrown from his bunk during the collision.

The association historian says he told his shipmates to be calm, found his penlight and passed it to another chief, helping nearly all of the chiefs escape. He and one other were not able to climb out.

Cannington's family attended a ceremony at Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville Sunday.

Veterans with the association say they plan to place memorials in all of the states where the 74 sailors lived before their untimely deaths.

Cox Media Group