A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION,  Honoring the memory of Lance Corporal Paul Evans of Sioux Falls for whom Camp Evans in Vietnam was named.

     WHEREAS,  Marine Lance Corporal Paul Evans of Sioux Falls was killed in Vietnam on December 22, 1966, while serving as an infantryman with the 26^th Marine Regiment in Quang Tri Province at age 21. L/Cpl Evans grew up in Sioux Falls and attended Augustana College. He was a member of Augustana's football team and a talented artist. He left behind his parents and his sister, Jane Evans Nielson, of Pierre; and

     WHEREAS,  L/Cpl Evans was killed while participating in Operation Chinook defending a small, temporary compound against a North Vietnamese Army ground attack. Firing the 3.5 rocket launcher, a heavy and unwieldy weapon, he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire and was killed by enemy small arms during the night. The Marines had called their small base "the Operation Chinook Perimeter," but after the battle of December twenty-second, they named the position "Camp Evans" out of respect for their friend Paul Evans, a six foot, six inch gentle giant who had the gift of being able to make everyone laugh during difficult situations and who was not afraid to risk everything for his fellow Marines; and

     WHEREAS,  Camp Evans, located midway between Quang Tri City and Hue on Highway 1, was expanded a number of times and continued under Marine control until 1968 when it became the headquarters for the U.S. Army's 1^st Cavalry Division for a time. It continued to expand and became one of the most important U.S. combat bases in I Corps, housing major units of the 101^st Airborne Division, the 18^th Evacuation Hospital, the 158^th Assault Helicopter Company, as well as numerous other aviation, artillery, transportation, communications, and supply units. Camp Evans was in continuous operation for nearly six years; and Camp Evans, named for a Sioux Falls Marine, colors the Vietnam memories to this day of thousands of U.S. soldiers who passed through it:

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED,  by the Seventy-eighth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that the South Dakota Legislature honors the memory, dedication, humanity, and sacrifice of Marine Lance Corporal Paul Evans of Sioux Falls, for whom Camp Evans in Quang Tri Province was named, who gave his life for his country and for his fellow Marines. His life and his actions represent the finest that South Dakota has to offer, and his service is representative of the

many other South Dakotans who gave their lives in Vietnam and in the other conflicts in the history of our nation.