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Clemmons Courier June 2, 2005

James Evans receives his medals from Congresswoman Virginia Foxx. [Media File]

By Dwight Sparks - Lewisville resident James “Ronnie” Evans was decorated for his military service on Memorial Day — 35 years after he was wounded in Vietnam . Evans received his medals from Congressman Virginia Foxx on Monday at her Clemmons office. It was a big weekend for his family. A daughter, Brooke, graduated from West Forsyth High School , and the medal presentation was arranged by Foxx's office, stirring up some old memories. “I spent eight months in the hospital,” Evans said.

He was wounded January 31, 1970 trying to recover a helicopter crew that went down near his base camp in the Tayninh Province near the Cambodian border. He was hit with a 30 caliber machine gun that was in the hands of the anti-aircraft division of the North Vietnamese Army.

He spent a month in a hospital in Japan and was later transferred to Walter Reed Hospital .

A native of Boonville, Evans was awarded the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal with one Bronze Oak Leaf, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge 1st Award, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with Device, and the Sharpshooter Badge.

He was drafted November 1968 for basic training in Ft. Bragg . He entered Vietnam on July 14, 1969. He retired medically from the Army on July 1, 1972.
He and his wife, Dawn, have two children, Erika and Brooke. They live on Conrad Road .

Foxx presented medals to several veterans on Monday — medals she had helped obtain that had been neglected to be awarded or lost over the years.
Others included Wayne Snyder of Mocksville for his service in the Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin during Vietnam , and to Calvin Matthews of Summerfield, a World War II veteran.