On Dec. 4, Air Force Capt. Kermit Evans Sr., a 31-year-old Mississippi State alumnus, was killed when his helicopter made an emergency water landing in Iraq. He is the first alumnus or MSU student to lose his life in the war.The Hollandale native, one of four soldiers killed, drowned when passengers from the U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 helicopter were evacuated on a lake in western Al Anbar Province. There were 12 survivors, a press release from the U.S. Department of Defense said.
Family and friends gathered in the Simmons High School Gym in Hollandale on Dec. 9 for a memorial service to a man described by his brother as a “fun-loving guy who just enjoyed life and enjoyed people.”
Among those at the memorial were Evans’ wife Perneatha Evans and the couple’s 13-month-old son, Kermit Jr., of Las Vegas, and Evans’ parents, Charles and Margaret Evans of Hollandale.
Lt. Col. Steve Woods presented the Evans family with the Bronze Star as part of the service. Evans Sr. was head of the bomb squad for the 27th Civil Engineer Squadron, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., and was deployed with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Balad Air Base, Iraq, while on his second tour in Iraq.
Kervin Evans said his brother joined the Air Force after graduating from MSU in 2000 with a degree in chemical engineering.
“He was coming up to graduation and looking for a job. He thought he would find fulfillment in the military,” Kervin Evans said.
Being in the Air Force was always a dream of Kermit Sr.’s, his brother continued.
“He believed that everyone should pursue their dreams, and he would encourage everyone he encountered to pursue those dreams. He also believed that despite where you began life, you could always end life in a better place, but you must always find a way to give back, which was something he did as often as possible,” Kervin said.
Evans’ son is a great deal like his father, Kervin said. Kermit Jr. looks like his father and has the same “energy and fearlessness.”
Kervin said sometimes he sees the 13-month-old balancing on the seat of his tricycle, and it reminds him of when Kermit Sr. would do the same things, balancing and doing tricks off the back of his tricycle.
As a child, Kermit Sr. was mischievous and enjoyed life by enjoying as many moments as possible. He was the center of a gathering and always good for a laugh, his brother said.
“Everybody loved him. He was a great guy to be around. I could probably fill a volume of books talking about him.
“He always believed in people and mostly the goodness of people,” Kervin said.
Andrew Rendon, MSU assistant dean for the Center of America’s Veterans, attended the Hollandale memorial and said the more people he talked to, the more he realized what an impact Evans made.
“It was an incredible service. And it was just really heart-wrenching for the community, for the family and for the state to lose an Air Force officer and captain from Mississippi,” Rendon said.
Rendon learned that Evans was extremely active in the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and also mentored a Starkville boy while at MSU.
“He seemed like he was one of the good guys. It’s like that saying, ‘Only the good die young.’
“MSU certainly mourns the loss of anyone who dies in war, and we are certainly encouraging the fraternity to do some sort of service on campus,” Rendon said.
According to Rendon, MSU has lost three people who were either alumni or current students to the war on terror.
“We want to do something to recognize Capt. Evans’ service. He was just a great person who really influenced a lot of people,” Rendon said.
Jeremy Johnson, Alpha Phi Alpha president, said the fraternity has discussed holding a service and is planning to do something in February.