Carson Evans
by John Allen · 80 things on Twos
- Many years ago, when the United States entered World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor, a few of us boys from Limestone received our draft notices. Limestone never has been a large town, so there weren’t that many to draft. We all went willingly even though none of us wanted to go except for one, my best friend Carson.
- Carson was a strong, well-liked boy. He loved his family, his church, and his country. I remember him as one always willing to give his all in anything. Even as a boy, he would give his all while we played, hunted, and fished. He would always do his best at school, which earned him high marks in most of his subjects.
- Although Carson was my best friend, we were not alike in this way. He never shirked his responsibility, while I-I tried to get away with the bare minimum. My grades in school reflected my unwillingness to put forth the effort that Carson put forth. At times I found myself even hating him because my parents would compare us by saying I should be more like him.
- Carson gave his all in everything even as he happily sang tenor in the church choir. It was said about his singing that it could be heard up and down Main Street. He would often sing or hum his favorite song while working, or while walking on Main. I remember once or twice the teacher got on him for humming during class. He did not take kindly to that.
- Typically when Carson and I were not working on our own farms we would find other jobs around town to fill our time and to earn some extra money. We were helping Mr. Richmond in his hardware store a few days before Christmas when the mailman came in the shop.
- “Hello, George”, Joseph Thompson the mailman said to Mr. Richmond as he handed him his mail. “Reckon we’ll get snow this Christmas? Heard there’s a storm brewing in the Midwest that’s headed our way.”
- While the two shared small talk, Carson and I finished removing goods from the crates in the storeroom at the back of the store. Once finished, we went back up front to ask Mr. Richmond if he had any more work for us.
- “Hello, boys, I didn’t know you all were here.”
- “Hello, Mr. Thompson”, replied Carson, “we’ve been helping Mr. Richmond with some odd jobs around the store. Gotta earn some extra money for Christmas, you know.”
- “Ah, yes, Christmas is a few days away. That reminds me. I have mail for both of you. Seems like Uncle Sam has a Christmas present for you boys.”
- It was December 21, 1941, only ten days after the United States joined WWII and only four days before Christmas. Our notices said report to Fort Bragg on December 26th.
- I was not so happy about my notice, but Carson was thrilled. He hurried home after finishing his work at the store and shared the letter with his family. June, Carson’s younger sister whom I’m married after the war ended, told me what happened that day.
- Running into the kitchen where his family was waiting on him to sit down for supper, Carson excitedly yelled, “Look Dad! Look Mamma! Look!”
- “Son, how many times have we taught you not to yell in the house?” said Carson’s father.
- “But Dad, look!”
- “What is it, son?”
- Overly excited Carson replied, “It’s a letter from the Draft Board saying they want me to come fight for our country”,
- “Let me look at that, son”, said Mr. Evans.
- Sure enough, that’s what it was. The spirit in the room changed. The excitement that Carson had was quickly overpowered by the sorrowful spirit of the rest of the family.
- “What does that mean, Daddy?” asked June.
- “Well, honey, it means that they want your brother to go and fight in the army.”
- “Well, you just can’t do it”, Carson’s mother interjected with concern in her voice.
- “But Mamma, they need me” Carson proudly answered back. “I’m gonna be in the United States Army and fight for you, daddy, and my brother and sisters. I’m gonna be fighting for Uncle Roy and Aunt Jenny, for Uncle Bud and Aunt Rose, for Mamaw and Papaw, for the Hales down the road, for our little country church and the whole country. Mamma I just gotta fight.”
- “No son, I forbid it!”, Carson’s mother answered back. “You’ll go over there and get hurt, or even worse, you’ll get killed. I won’t let you go! I won’t let you go!”
- “But don’t you remember what the preacher preached about last Sunday?” Carson tried calmly to ask. “He said that we must trust God with the war and everything that goes on around us, no matter if we like it or not.”
- “Well let’s eat our supper before it gets cold”, Carson’s father said wisely, “we’ll talk about this later.”
- Well Carson didn’t know why they were going to talk any more about it. He knew right then and there that he was going to fight for his family which he loved so much, for his church which he cherished, and for his country for which he proudly stood.
- On Christmas Day, Carson, myself, and the rest of us boarded the bus headed for Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The ride to Fort Bragg was somber for each of us, and the cold rain didn’t help matters either. A few boys flipped through magazines or the newspaper, I tried to take a nap, a couple were talking about giving it to the Japanese and Nazis, but Carson, I noticed, was reading his Bible.
- “What are you reading, Carson?”, I asked as I moved over next to his bench.
- “The 118th Psalm, Frank. It’s always been a favorite of mine. I’ve read it and heard it sung so many times that I practically have it memorized.”
- “Why that chapter, Cars?” (Cars was a nickname I gave him when we were in second grade.)
- “Mainly because of these two verses.”
- While angling his small Bible towards me he pointed at Psalm 118:8-9, which I read.
- “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”
- “Why those verses, Carson? Why here and why now?” I knew the answer myself but could sense he wanted me to ask him.
- “Frank, why these verses, why here, and why now? Because we are on our way to a place we’ve never been, to fight people we do not know, and to defend the freedom for our country and the freedom for our allies. I’m reading these verses to remind myself that in everything it is better to trust in the Lord than to put my trust in man. Man will let us down, Frank, but God never will.”
- The rest of the trip to Fort Bragg was quiet after that conversation. I reckon we were all thinking about Carson’s words and wondering if God could be trusted.
- While at bootcamp we would all try to write our folks back home at least once a week. Carson tried to write at least twice a week. With each letter he would try to ensure his mother of his safety and wellbeing.
- After ten weeks of bootcamp, we were shipped off to Europe, making us some of the first US troops there to fight against the Nazi regime. Carson and I were fortunate to be assigned to the same platoon – the Treysta Platoon.
- Even overseas, Carson was still giving everything his all, and I learned I must also if I wanted to stay alive. We would write when we could but even then it would takes weeks to reach back home. Then sometimes we couldn’t tell our families where we were for security reasons, just in case the Nazis intercepted the mail before it made it to England and then sent home.
- Orders were changed frequently in those early days, as we found ourselves in bad situations. Those frequent changes usually cost someone their life. Even still, Carson and I were safe and had evaded harm.
- Then one day after being over there for several months, our platoon was driven into an abandoned, enemy bunker. We were there for hours. We had radio contact but no help from the other platoons in the area. We were left to make it on our own.
- This bunker was at the bottom of a hill and the Nazis were at the top in a stronghold. The moment one of us would try to climb the hill, whether standing or even belly crawling, we would be picked off like a tin can on a fence.
- The conditions were horrible. It was cold and rainy, much like the weather the day we rode to Fort Bragg. There was very little food and water. We had not been in a real bed nor eaten real food in days. Some in our platoon were becoming irritated; all the while, Carson sang his favorite song.
- ‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know thus saith the Lord
- Then as he would sing the chorus, of the song he would get choked up. He told me that he was thinking about what all he had been through and how the Lord had helped him so many times.
- Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him
How I’ve proved Him o’re and o’re
Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus
Oh for grace to trust Him more
- Some of the soldiers would fuss at him and swear at him saying that trusting in Jesus was foolish because He wouldn’t have let us be here in this bunker or be in this war, but Carson just kept singing, with a smile on his face.
- Then dusk came and our lieutenant stopped them all and said, “Dusk is coming, and we can’t make out much longer. We have orders to claim that hill and the bridge down on the other side. We must move now, but someone must go before and distract them and draw their fire. Then we’ll come up the side and clean them out.”
- Our comrades, me included, started murmuring and refuting him saying that it wouldn’t work. He agreed by saying that it was risky and the odds were pretty low but there was no other way outside of a miracle that they could do it.
- Amid the disputing and bickering, Carson stood up and said, “Sir, I’ll go”. The others started telling him that he was crazy and stupid. I even joined in with them trying to convince him that it was a suicide mission. Some said that he wasn’t fast enough and that he wouldn’t make it. We tried desperately to get him not to go and charge the hill alone.
- “Evans”, said the lieutenant, “are you sure you want to do this?”
- “Yes, sir” Carson confidently replied.
- “I’m not ordering you, Evans. This is strictly volunteer.”
- “I know, sir!”
- “Okay…wait till it gets just a little bit darker and then I’ll give you the go ahead and we’ll come up the sides.”
- “Yes, sir” Carson replied but this time not as sure of himself.
- The rest of the platoon took their place while Carson was in his place. Knowing Cars better than anyone else I’m confident he was reliving memories while waiting on the signal. He probably thought about his family sitting at the supper table laughing and carrying on. He probably relived singing tenor in the church choir and singing the National Anthem at the county fair that year. He might have thought about his schoolmates and his friends, but I suppose he prayed and sang his song above all else.
- After only a few minutes, even though it seemed like hours, the lieutenant gave Carson the signal. Without hesitation, Carson started climbing.
- Immediately, the Germans spotted him and opened fire, but he kept climbing. He returned their fire. Over the sound of machine guns and flying bullets we all could hear Carson singing with his strong tenor voice,
- I'm so glad I learned to trust thee,
Precious Jesus, Saviour, Friend;
And I know that thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
- We couldn’t believe it but Carson kept going and singing until his strength was gone from the blood that he lost from the bullets that hit him, but he laid there singing with all the strength he could muster,
- Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him
How I’ve proved Him o’re and o’re
Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus
Oh for grace to trust Him more.
- A couple days later Carson awoke in a makeshift army hospital. His body was full of bullets. Most of his blood was left on the hill and his strength was all gone. He was there in the hospital dying. Then he called for me.
- I didn’t expect Carson to wake up but hurried to him. He inquired about his personal belongings. They were in a footlocker near the bed.
- “Frank, can you do me a favor?” asked Carson gasping for his breath as he spoke.
- “Yes, Carson, what do you want?” Frank almost reluctantly responded.
- “Can you look in my Bible for an envelope?”
- Looking through Carson’s bag, I found his Bible and in it was an envelope addressed to his parents.
- Carson said slowly, “Can you send this and the rest of my things home?”
- “But Carson, I-I-I”
- “Frank, please! Make sure my family gets this, especially the letter in my Bible”, Carson said firmly.
- “Okay, Carson. I’ll do it.”, I replied even though I didn’t want to accept the fact that he was about to die.
- A few hours later Carson passed away and it was reported that he woke up enough to sing the last verse of his song again just as he did climbing the hill. He was shipped home with his bag, which had his Bible and the letter.
- I made sure Carson’s last request was granted for his family to receive his things. As his parents went through his bag, they found the letter that was addressed to them. With tears already running down their cheeks, they opened the letter, which read,
- Dear Momma and Daddy,
- If you are reading this I didn’t make it home, but I wanted to say, I love my family, my friends, my church, and my country so very much. I don’t understand why God would take me to be with Him so soon but I’m happier now. Please don’t mourn over me but rather just trust in Jesus. I’ll see you in Heaven.
- Your loving son,
- Carson
- It was said at his funeral that Carson gave his all in everything – including his own life but especially including all of his trust in God.