First Sergeant Williams Stanton Evans was a non-commissioned officer in Easy Company.
Early Life[]
William S. Evans was born on July 21, 1910, in San Antonio, Texas. He attended St. Thomas High School in Houston, Texas and majored in petroleum production engineering at Texas A&M University. By the time war had broke out, Evans worked as an accountant with Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corporation.
Military Service[]
Due to his employment with the shipbuilding company, Evans was eligble for deferment from military service. He enlisted anyways to spare his brothers (who were fathers) from being drafted. He volunteered for the paratroopers and was assigned to Easy Company, 506th PIR. After the company had completed jump training at Fort Benning, Georgia, Evans was promoted to the position of company first sergeant.
Evans was considered one of the favorites of Captain Herbert Sobel and consequently unpopular among some of the men of Easy Company. He did not participate in the NCO mutiny against Sobel despite being informed about the meeting instigated by Sergeants Mike Ranney and Terrence Harris.
On D-Day, Evans was onboard Stick 66, the ill-fated plane that carried 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan and the rest of the company's HQ section. The plane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in the fields of Normandy. Staff Sergeant James "Punchy" Diel served as acting first sergeant when Evans was presumed to be MIA. After Diel was given a battlefield commission and transfered out of Easy Company, Captain Richard Winters selected Carwood Lipton to be the company's new first sergeant.
Trivia[]
- Alongside with 1st Lt. Meehan, Evans is the first named character to die in the series.