Ernest E. Evans and Samuel B. Roberts' Stand at Leyte Gulf

Dec 09 , 2025

Ernest E. Evans and Samuel B. Roberts' Stand at Leyte Gulf

Ernest E. Evans grasped the wheel of USS Samuel B. Roberts as if it were the last thread tethering him to life. Around him, hell roared—Japanese cruisers and battleships closed like ghosts from the abyss. Outgunned, outnumbered, there was only one choice: fight. Fight with brutal, unforgiving fury. The waters of Leyte Gulf burned red that October day, 1944, and Evans steered his ship straight into the maw of destruction.

The Making of a Warrior and a Man

Born in 1908 in Pawnee, Oklahoma, Evans was a product of grit and quiet faith. The Midwest soil doesn’t soften a man—it hardens his resolve. Raised within the Presbyterian Church, his life was framed by a code of duty and steely conviction: protect those around you, even if it demands everything.

"I’ve always believed men ought to stand where they’re needed," he once said. His path took him from the Naval Academy straight into the crucible of war, but beneath the fierce officer was a man clinging to something larger than himself—truth, sacrifice, redemption.

His faith didn’t live in sermons or safe pews but in the mess decks, on patrol, and amid the biting salt spray. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Evans lived by that.

The Battle Off Samar: Defiance Against the Abyss

October 25, 1944, is etched forever in Pacific war history. Evans commanded the Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413)—a destroyer escort, light, weak, meant for screening, not slugging it out with cruisers and battleships. Yet that morning, Task Unit 77.4.3, known as Taffy 3, faced the Japanese Center Force.

Six battleships, a dozen cruisers, and nearly two dozen destroyers bore down like the Devil’s own legion. Evans’ ship and her sister captains had one mission: protect the landing forces in Leyte Gulf. When the bigger ships opened fire, Evans ignored odds that screamed “retreat.”

He charged the heavy cruisers. Ordered torpedo attacks. Made smoking smoke to cover his crew—every move a prayer in steel. Samuel B. Roberts was nicknamed "The Destroyer Escort That Fought Like A Battleship" for this fight.

Despite near-fatal damage, Evans refused to surrender or fall back. His courage inspired every man aboard to fight harder, bleed deeper, and push back against the crushing weight of enemy fire. When mortal wounds struck their captain, his crew carried on. But Evans was a guardian and a warrior carved from unforgiving stone.

Valor Honored in Blood and Bronze

For his leadership, valor, and sacrifice that day, Ernest E. Evans posthumously received the Medal of Honor. His citation called it "extraordinary heroism" amid "the most desperate naval battle in history, marked by resolute defiance in the face of overwhelming odds."

Admiral Clifton Sprague, Taffy 3’s commander, called his actions "the finest I have ever witnessed in combat." Evans’ aggressive tactics disrupted the Japanese attack long enough to save the convoy and turn the tide. His name entered the annals of the Navy as a symbol of grit worth dying for.

“Lieutenant Commander Evans was well aware of the terrible odds against him… By his indomitable fighting spirit, he caused severe damage to the enemy and threw confusion into their ranks.” — Medal of Honor citation

His sacrifice was not the end but the inciting spark that stopped an invasion and preserved thousands of lives.

Legacy of Blood, Steel, and Spirit

Ernest Evans didn’t fight for glory. He fought because survival without honor is no survival at all—because redemption is a path paved in struggle and sacrifice. His story teaches us that courage is fifty pounds of iron flung into the furnace of duty. It reminds us that leadership is earned in moments when death is the only clear outcome, and still, a man stands tall and meets it head-on.

The scars he left are not just on history’s pages but etched inside every veteran who knows what it means to face impossible odds and still say “come and get me.” His faith in mission and men was relentless—showing us all that sacrifice, when wrapped in love and honor, redeems even the darkest hours.

In the end, Evans’ story is a gospel of endurance, of sacrificial love woven into the cruel tapestry of war. He is a voice that speaks from the depths of the ocean’s graveyard to every soldier still standing in the fire:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Sources

1. Naval History and Heritage Command, Destroyer Escort Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) Action Report, October 25, 1944 2. United States Navy, Medal of Honor Citation—Ernest E. Evans 3. Stephen R. Saunders, The Battle of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action (Naval Institute Press) 4. Admiral Clifton Sprague, After Action Report: Task Unit 77.4.3 (Taffy 3)