Evans flies high with World War II service

(Frank Evans knew Jane Pier when they were in the seventh grade and they started dating when they were sophomores in high school. They continued dating in college and graduated together in 1941. After flight training, they were married in Boise because Frank could not get leave to come home to Sandpoint. Jane and Frank have five children: Carolyn, Stephen, Thomas, John and Mary. Today, Franks tells us about his college and military experience and his return home to Jane.)

“Jane and I both started our college careers at the University of Idaho in Moscow. Adjusting to life, as a college student from the academic standpoint was somewhat difficult as I was ill prepared for the science courses and had never developed good study habits. In addition, the many varied activities, other than classroom, were a constant distraction, and of course enjoyable. I’ve always reflected on the four years of college as having been a wonderful time.

“I graduated in1941 and was inducted into the Army Air Corps flight-training program. This put life into a direction I never envisioned or dreamed of. I was sworn in at Spokane, Wash., and given a train ticket to Tulare, Calif., where the primary training field for aviation cadets was located. We arrived in early afternoon on a summer day in July with the temperature reading about 110 degrees.

“I have no memories of having any difficulty adjusting to the military life of a cadet. It was structured and regimented but to me did not seem harsh or unbearable. A background of summer work camps and fraternity living was probably good pre-conditioning for this experience. I remember that leaving the base on weekdays, or for overnight on weekends, was not permitted.

“I graduated from flying training in February 1942 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army at Mather Field, Calif. World War II had begun for the U.S. the preceding December so I was immediately sent to Boise to begin training to fly four-engine bombers. Jane and I were married in March there in Boise in the Episcopal Church.

“In July of 1942, I was ordered to join a Bomb Group destined to the war in Europe and then North Africa. In the following year, I was to participate in 50 bombing missions. I was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters, and a Presidential Unit Citation.

“During my time overseas, I spent 60 days as the pilot for British General B. L. Montgomery, later Field Marshal Montgomery. This story probably should date from January 2, 1943. We were on a bombing mission and our plane was badly damaged, and two of the crew had been wounded. The plane, the Queen Bee, was no longer flyable. Later, on January 31, on another bombing raid, we were shot up by German anti-aircraft ground fire, and then attacked by Luftwaffe FW-190s. Our plane was so badly damaged that we eventually had to bail out. Because of these two traumatic experiences, we were ordered to take a seven-day rest at a resort hotel that had been taken over for military rest and recuperation.

“On April 16, our whole crew was given orders to report to British General Montgomery, somewhere in Tunisia. This assignment was the result of a wager between General Walter Bedell Smith, Chief of Staff for General Dwight Eisenhower, and General Montgomery. Montgomery had stated that he would drive the German General Rommel’s forces beyond a certain point on the map within so many weeks. General Smith did not think it could be done. General Montgomery had no personal air transportation available from the over-burdened British Air Force. The wager was that if he could reach that goal, the U.S. Army Air Force would provide air transportation for him. He won the wager.

“Our orders read to report to the General at Gades, Tunisia.    We had some difficulty finding General Montgomery but he sent one of his aides with a car to take me back to his field headquarters, about five miles from the front, where we had lunch.

In the afternoon, the General with his two aides, Poston and Henderson, took me back to the plane, where I introduced him to the crew and he examined the airplane. There were newspaper photographers and newsreel cameramen, all British, taking pictures of the presentation of the plane.

“I remember some evenings with General Montgomery as being memorable ones. General Montgomery invited me to join his entourage, which included other generals and his aides for dinner. I had not been clued in to the protocol of such an evening. I did not know that a person did not accept offerings of second helpings unless the General had done so. I found myself the only one at the table with a plate full of food.

“On another evening, his aides had arranged for a private dinner at one of the better-known restaurants, for our officers and themselves. General Montgomery was hosting the dinner but did not plan to be present. After arriving, we learned that the aides had failed to notify the management that the General himself would not be in attendance. The restaurant had gone to great lengths to make the table attractive with sterling silver and crystal glassware. The management seemed to be somewhat upset.

“I recall the evening the General invited me to be his guest to attend the play, “Arsenic and Old Lace” at a London theater, where we sat in the King’s Box. The news photographer’s picture of the General and I, and his aides, appeared in the news in London and later in Life magazine.

“When we received word from General Spaatz’s headquarters that another crew had been assigned to this duty, I was somewhat relieved. My crew was getting restless and as long as we were here all promotions and all hope of finishing our missions was on hold. Besides, not all were enjoying the special treatment this pilot was receiving. So, on June 15 we took the plane back to Algiers for the other crew, and then went back to our own bomb group where we were reinstated to resume flying our bombing missions.

“After completing my 50 missions, I came back to the U.S. and Jane and I spent 18 months in the Air Force at Sioux City, IA. I was assigned to Base Administration in the Air Inspector’s office. I was separated from the service in August 1945 with the rank of Major. We returned to Sandpoint as civilians.

“In August 1945, I received a telegram from United Air Lines asking me to report to Denver, Colorado, for training as a co-pilot. I did not accept this offer because A. H. Pier, Jane’s father, invited me to become a stockholder and join him in the operation of his Ford and Mercury auto dealership. This became my business career for the next 35 years.

“Over the years, involvement in church, civic, and other community affairs, seemed to be a very natural thing for both Jane and me.”