Bill Thibeault

Bill Thibeault is a life long singer/songwriter/musician, and now, first time film maker, from Norwich, CT. He's also a Vietnam Veteran and survivor of the worst naval disaster of the Vietnam War. He lost 74 of his shipmates on June 3, 1969 when his ship USS Frank E. Evans collided with the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne . Even though they were in the Vietnam War, the 74 names are not on the Vietnam Wall because the collision happened outside the combat zone. In 2018 Congress passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to get the names on the wall but it did not pass in the Senate. Hearing this news frustrated Bill and being a singer/songwriter, he wrote a song in July 2018 called "Recognition" about the Evans and the lost 74. It was released it on an album of the same name in January, 2019. In January of 2021 at the age of 71, Bill decided to do something new and bought a camera. He started learning about film making and started producing short films. His goal is to produce a feature film about the sinking of his ship, the USS Frank E. Evans and the loss of his 74 shipmates. Chris Goodenough is now in the process of writing the screenplay for it and will focus on the lives of the 3 brothers from Nebraska, Gary, Greg, and Kelly Jo Sage, who were among the 74 sailors lost at sea.