Evans served as a ball turret gunner while flying in a B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber. It was on December 16, 1943, that Evans' last mission would take place. An operational mission to bomb Bremen, Germany, at 1400 hours. Evans' bomber was equipped with bombs and incendiary rounds. During the battle, they took fire from Nazi flak fire and as a result, lost engine #3. They pulled back from the formation and released their load. On their way back, they were met with Luftwaffe fighter planes, and Evans' bomber was shot down near the northern tip of Texel Municipality, Holland-Netherlands. The whereabouts of Evans and his crewmates were a mystery to the other squadron members. In fact, Evans was officially declared dead in the Spring of 1945. A friend of Evans, Private First Class Sydney Hebert, wrote to his parents that the chances of Evans' survival were very high. Evans' squadron members saw that the bomber had no reason for it not to land safely.