Long Beach to Host Memorial Day Commemoration Honoring USS Frank E. Evans and the Lost 74

Long Beach, CA ~ Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) Office of Veterans Support, in collaboration with the USS Frank E. Evans Association, will once again host a Memorial Day commemoration on Saturday, May 23, 2026. The event, titled "Let Us Remember: Celebrating Our Long Beach Heroes," will honor the brave men and women who have served our country.

Mayor Rex Richardson expressed the importance of this event, stating that Memorial Day is a time to reflect on the courage and sacrifice of those who have served. He emphasized that by coming together as a community to honor the "Lost 74" sailors who perished aboard the USS Frank E. Evans on June 3, 1969, their legacy will be preserved and their memory carried forward by future generations.

The free and family-friendly ceremony will take place at the Navy Memorial in Shoreline Aquatic Park, where plaques commemorating the Lost 74 are located. The program will include ceremonial tributes led by survivors and families, such as a bell ceremony with the reading of fallen sailors' names, a wreath-laying ceremony, and a water cannon salute by a Long Beach Fire Department fireboat. Survivors and families from across the country are expected to attend.

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First District Councilwoman Mary Zendejas spoke about the personal significance of this event for families and shipmates of the USS Frank E. Evans. She emphasized that through this ceremony, we can ensure that the 74 sailors we lost are never forgotten and that future generations understand the true cost of service and sacrifice.

The USS Frank E. Evans was homeported in Long Beach before departing in May 1969. Tragically, on June 3rd of that year, it was involved in a collision with an Australian aircraft carrier in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam which resulted in the loss of 74 sailors. In the years following the tragedy, survivors and families formed the USS Frank E. Evans Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the fallen.

Thanks to their efforts, the interchange at State Route 710 and Pacific Coast Highway has been designated as the USS Frank E. Evans Memorial Interchange through California Senate Concurrent Resolution 143, sponsored by State Senator Lena Gonzalez. Memorial signage will be installed later this year.

The Port of Long Beach is the lead sponsor of this event. For more information, please visit longbeach.gov/veterans. Let us all come together on May 23rd to honor and remember our Long Beach heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

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