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Charles Deane Evans, Mitchell Field, New York [4/1942]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Dates of Service: 1941-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: 121st Army Air Force Base Unit (AAFBU); 51st Fighter Group, 10th Air Force; 80th Fighter Group, 10th Air Force
  • Location of Service: Montgomery, Alabama; Albany, Georgia; China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater; European Theater; Pacific Theater
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/31133

View full service history

"I thought back on my 17 months in Assam—a slow, back-country operation, a war of attrition. Winners were those learned to adapt to long periods of boredom and appreciate the country and its people. Few of us became heroes." (Memoir, page 116)

In 1940 Charles Evans was a college student fascinated with flying, so he signed up for an air cadet program. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Evans was, in one day, drummed out of the air cadets and given a commission in the Army Air Corps. He flew a P-40 in a Pursuit Group that monitored the skies over New England, serving with legendary pilot Philip Cochran, the model for Milton Caniff's comic strip character Flip Corkin. Like Cochran, Evans would serve in the China-Burma-India Theater, piloting a P-40 on bombing and strafing missions over Burma. After 17 months and 59 missions, he was given the choice of staying longer with a promotion or returning home. He chose the latter, looking forward to a real honeymoon with his wife, to whom he'd been married only four months when he shipped out.

View 16 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View 140 images in sequence.
[ Travels with a P-40 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Obituary for Charles D. Evans [5/4/2005] ]

About this Item

Title

  • Charles Deane Evans Collection

Names

  • Evans, Charles Deane
  • Evans, Margaret N.

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • Washington (State)

Headings

  • -  Evans, Charles Deane
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: 121st Army Air Force Base Unit (AAFBU); 51st Fighter Group, 10th Air Force; 80th Fighter Group, 10th Air Force
    • Location of Service: Montgomery, Alabama; Albany, Georgia; China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater; European Theater; Pacific Theater
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Digital print [1 item] -- Photographs (collected 2005-03-27)
  • Manuscript: Memoir [1 item] -- (collected 2001-10-14)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2005-05-04)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/31133

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Evans, Charles Deane, and Margaret N Evans. Charles Deane Evans Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.31133/.

APA citation style:

Evans, C. D. & Evans, M. N. (1941) Charles Deane Evans Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.31133/.

MLA citation style:

Evans, Charles Deane, and Margaret N Evans. Charles Deane Evans Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.31133/>.