Ernest E. Evans and the Courage That Saved Taffy 3

Dec 29 , 2025

Ernest E. Evans and the Courage That Saved Taffy 3

Ernest E. Evans stood on the bridge of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, chaos swallowing the sea around him. Enemy warships loomed like predators, massive and unrelenting. The air was thick with smoke, deafening with the roar of guns. He gave no ground.

They were outgunned, outnumbered, outmatched. Yet he chose to fight.

Born to Lead, Forged in Faith

Ernest Edwin Evans was a man shaped by grit and grounded by faith. Born in 1908, he grew up in a world still scarred from the last great war. Raised with a strong sense of duty, his moral compass never wavered. Those who knew him spoke of a quiet resolve—a man who believed fighting for what they held sacred was not a choice, but a calling.

“Greater love hath no man than this,” always echoed in his mind.

Evans carried this scripture—John 15:13—as a silent oath. His leadership style was not born of arrogance or ambition, but of steadfast honor and sacrifice. He led from the front. Never a man to ask others to do what he wouldn’t do himself.

The Battle That Defined Him: Samar, 1944

October 25, 1944.

The Battle off Samar would etch Evans’s name into history. He commanded the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413), a destroyer escort with limited firepower and speed, yet stubbornly guarding a weak escort carrier group known as "Taffy 3." The enemy force was a nightmare—four battleships, six heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and eleven destroyers under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita. Their mission: annihilate the Americans.

Evans’s ship was no match for this armada. But he did something no one expected—he charged headlong into the inferno.

The Samuel B. Roberts unleashed torpedoes and gunfire with reckless precision, a David against Goliaths. Reports say Evans throttled his ship at flank speed, weaving through shells and shrapnel, drawing enemy fire away from vulnerable escort carriers. His daring dance turned a massacre into a brutal, desperate stand.

He ordered his men to keep firing even as the Roberts took hit after hit—engines crippled, guns silenced, fires raging. Evans refused to surrender or retreat. He was last seen barking orders over the chaos, rallying his crew to fight until the bitter end.

His ship exploded and sank, but the damage inflicted delayed Kurita’s force and saved countless lives.

Honors Written in Fire and Blood

Evans died that day, but his legacy was carved in valor.

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, his citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty... frequently engaging a superior Japanese force... fighting to the last, to defend the lives of his fellow sailors and the integrity of the Fleet.”

Survivors and historians alike describe Evans as embodying the warrior’s soul—unyielding and self-sacrificing. Admiral William F. Halsey famously called Taffy 3's stand "one of the most heroic actions in naval history." Evans’s courage was a spark that kindled the entire battle.

The Enduring Lesson of Ernest E. Evans

In war, the line between life and death is razor-thin. Evans taught us that true courage is not the absence of fear—it’s the choice to stand when others fall.

His story isn’t just about bullets or battleships. It’s about a man’s faith in something greater than himself—service, duty, and redemption through sacrifice.

“He who loses his life for my sake will find it.” — Matthew 16:25

Ernest E. Evans found his life that day—not in years, but in the hearts of the men he saved, the history he shaped, and the legacy he left behind.

His name reminds every warrior and civilian alike: courage is costly, but its price echoes through generations.

Sources

1. Naval History and Heritage Command, Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) Action Report 2. United States Navy, Medal of Honor Citation for Ernest E. Evans 3. Morison, Samuel Eliot, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. 13 4. Halsey, William F., quoted in The Battle off Samar, New York Times Archives