Raymond Evans

Raymond Joseph Evans Jr. (February 22, 1921 – May 30, 2013) was a United States Coast Guardsman who was decorated with the Navy Cross for an act of "extraordinary heroism" during World War II. He is one of only six men in the conflict to have received the medal for actions performed while serving in the Coast Guard. Evans was born in Bellingham, Washington and raised near Seattle. Unable to find work out of high school, he volunteered for military service shortly before the United States entered World War II. Evans and his shipmate, fellow Washingtonian Douglas Munro were known as the Gold Dust Twins because of their inseparability. During the Guadalcanal Campaign, Evans was assigned to Naval Operating Base Cactus at Lunga Point, where small boat operations were coordinated. At the Second Battle of the Matanikau in September 1942, he assisted in the evacuation of Marines whose position had been overrun by Japanese forces. Remaining at his post despite the other members of his crew, including Munro, being killed or wounded, he used one hand to steer the Higgins boat that he was piloting and another to fire his machine gun, drawing enemy fire towards himself and away from the Marines. Evans received a commission, serving as an officer for the remainder of the war, and stayed in the Coast Guard until his retirement in 1962. Since his death in 2013, the cutter and Ray Evans Medal, awarded annually to outstanding coxswains, have been named in his honor. Coast Guard service