Oliver Evans

Oliver Raymond Evans (April 23, 1912 – July 25, 1944) was a soldier from Oneida killed in World War II.

Biography

Born April 23, 1912, Oliver R. Evans worked for the Tennessee Coal & Lumber Co.’s mill at Verdun in Oneida — which is where he lived — in 1940. He married Dorothy Jean Smith in Scott County on July 9, 1939. She was the daughter of Alvin William Smith (1877-1967) and Margarett Lucinda Burchfield (1887-1941) of West Oneida.

It isn’t clear where Oliver Evans originated, or who his parents were. He stated on his draft registration card and on his application for a marriage license that he was born in Scott County. He is not found in either the 1920 or 1930 censuses.

After 1940, Oliver moved to Cincinnati, Oh. and worked for Recto Molded Products.

World War II

PFC Evans enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th infantry Division. He fought in the European theater of the war. He was killed by friendly fire on July 25, 1944, at the start of Operation Cobra during the Normandy campaign.

Aftermath

PFC Evans’ body was returned stateside, and he was buried at the Smith-Forbis Cemetery in Oneida.

He received the Purple Heart award. He is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida, the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, and the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville.

Dorothy remarried to Roy Leon Wilder (1919-1998) in 1949. They had one son together: Harry James Wilder, born in 1947. She married a third time to Charles W. Callahan (1928-1994) in 1980. She died at Huntsville Manor Nursing Home on Nov. 18, 1995 and is also buried at Smith-Forbis Cemetery.