PFC DAVID EVANS, JR.
977th Military Police Company
Private
David Evans, Jr., Age 18, of Buffalo, New York, was killed May 25,
2003, in
Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq. Evans was killed in an explosion at a
facility which contained Iraqi ammunition. Evans and another
soldier were performing security at the site when their steel shelter
collapsed during the initial explosion. The rest of the squad
returned after the first explosion and extracted the other soldier, but
Private Evans' remains could not be located until several hours later.
AP Wire --
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Hundreds of mourners packed a church Tuesday to honor a
young soldier killed in the war with Iraq.
Pvt. David
Evans Jr.'s flag-draped casket, grief-stricken parents and solemn
military colleagues painted a now familiar scene. Evans, a new father
who wanted to be an FBI agent, is one of 175 U.S. casualties of war,
and the third soldier from Buffalo to die.
A member of
the 977th Military Police Company in Fort Riley, Kan., Evans was killed
May 25 in an explosion at a munitions site he was guarding in southern
Iraq. He was 18.
Friend
Mallory Lee recalled a telephone call from Evans as he prepared to ship
out to Iraq. As the two teens spoke, the soldier said it might be their
last conversation.
"I said
'Don't say that. You're coming back. We're getting old. You're going to
see my kids, I'm going to see your kids. We're getting old,'" Lee, 18,
said.
"He was the
brother I never had," said Lee, one of dozens of young people to wear
T-shirts memorializing Evans. Evans' infant son, born in February, was
pictured on many, with the words: "The legacy still continues."
Evans never
saw his son, David Kevonta Evans, who was born a month after Evans made
his last visit home on leave. The child slept in a relative's arms as
family members accepted condolences after the memorial service.
"I don't
think there's anything in our training ... that could prepare us for
the loss of life of one of our babies, one of our children, in a war,"
said Eric Mohammed, a teacher at Kensington High School, where Evans
ran track until his graduation last year.
Mourners
spoke of the sense of service present in Evans even as a young teenager
that would lead him to the military with the ultimate goal of a career
in law enforcement. As a high school student, he interned at City Hall.
Mayor
Anthony Masiello, one of several community leaders to attend the
service, said Evans had a calling to serve. "But there was a calling
greater than ours - a calling from our savior, our maker, our Lord
almighty, to join Him. Why? We don't know. It's difficult for us to
understand," the mayor said.
The City
Council proclaimed Tuesday "David Evans Jr. Day" in Buffalo.
In an
emotional eulogy that had people on their feet, arms in the air, the
Rev. Darius Pridgen said Evans had lived up to his nickname, "Usher,"
given to him because of his resemblance to the R&B singer by that
name. Usher means one who stands guard, Pridgen said.
"You're
relieved now, son. There's greater work for you," Pridgen said. "You
have ushered well, now take your promotion."
Evans will
be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Sister of soldier killed in Iraq gets award
in his name
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
(www.newsday.com)
June 25, 2004, 4:38 PM EDT
With her classmates standing and cheering, a surprised Tiffany Evans swiped tears from her cheeks as she received the David Evans Courage Award Scholarship during her graduation from Seneca Comprehensive High School.
She had not been told about the award established by the Buffalo Common Council office where her brother had interned before joining the Army.
"I was so surprised," she said later after reuniting with her father, sister and other family members who had cheered her on from the front row.
Her brother, she said, would have been hollering loudest of all.
Evans was Tiffany's age, just 18, when he was killed in an explosion while guarding a munitions facility in Diwaniyah, Iraq, on May 25, 2003.
In a disturbing report in March, the Army told the family that Evans' death was attributed to horseplay by fellow soldiers. Army and Defense Department officials said one of two soldiers entering a building full of munitions lighted some fuse bundles that set off a series of explosions. David Evans Jr. was killed in the second blast. One of the soldiers was charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide.
The news hurt everyone, including Tiffany, who was working toward the end of high school with plans to major in human services at college in the fall.
"She was the perfect recipient" of the new courage award, her older sister Tijuana Evans said, "because you could express courage no better way than to be in school and still overcome all the things she had to go through in her senior year."
David Evans Sr. said his son would have enjoyed the honor of having a scholarship named for him.
"I can see the smile on his face now," he said.
David Evans Jr. had hoped the military would lead him to a career in law enforcement. A calling to public service had led him to intern at City Hall while still in high school, those who knew him said.
Common Council member Antoine Thompson, who established the award, said it is meant to celebrate Evans' life and keep his legacy alive.
Evans graduated from Kensington High School in 2002 and joined the Army two months later. He left behind a son he never met, born a month after his last visit home on leave.
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
