On June 3, 1969, 74 sailors lost their lives aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans (DD 754). While on the gun line off the coast of Vietnam, the ship was ordered out of the combat zone to take part in a Seato training exercise with 40 ships from 7 nations. During the exercise, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne (R 21) collided with USS Frank E. Evans (DD 754), and in 3 minutes the forward section of the ship sank. The 74 men, known as the Lost 74, are not included on the Vietnam memorial in Washington D.C. because of a technicality, though they are regarded here as having earned their place on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.