CLETIS S. EVANS, JR (VETERAN MARINE) HONORED WITH MARTIN G. HANSE, SR HUMANITARIAN AWARD

Established in 2016 by the Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Kentucky (MCCCK) Board of Directors to recognize those individuals, whenever appropriate, who have demonstrated compassion, charity, and philanthropy in alleviating suffering and helping those less fortunate, while substantially improving the lives of others, through personal dedicated service of an inspirational nature.

Like the individual whose memory this award honors, the recipient thereof will have undoubtedly made a significant impact in bettering the lives of others. Martin G. Hanse, Sr. (1940-2014) served honorably in the Marine Corps before embarking on an outstanding career with United Parcel Service, from which he retired in 1999 as Vice President – International Operations, United Parcel Service Airlines. Never forgetting his Marine Corps roots, he worked tirelessly for various Marine Corps related charitable causes, fully embracing the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, while serving as the “conscience” of the MCCCK in identifying and addressing causes in need of compassionate support, either emotionally or financially. Even while incapacitated with a debilitating illness, he readily contacted friends and former colleagues for support of charitable causes. His leadership in helping those, both within our statewide Marine Corps community and elsewhere, in need of assistance has served to institutionalize charity and benevolence within the very fabric of the MCCCK mission. Although he is no longer with us, his spirit lives on in the charitable work of the MCCCK, and his memory is honored with this award, through the recognition of those who have embraced the admirable calling of helping others.

Following his 1985 enlistment in the United States Marine Corps and his subsequent graduation from Recruit Training at Parris Island, South Carolina, Cletis S. Evans, Jr., Captain, USMC (Retired) embarked on a 22 year Marine Corps career, which would take him from duties as a radio repairman assigned to the 2nd Assault Amphibious Battalion of the 2nd Marine Division to combat service as a captain with the 2nd Marine Division (Forward) during deployments to Al-Anbar Province, Iraq. His Marine Corps service encompassed multiple overseas deployments and assignments, to include contingency duty in the Mediterranean Sea; as well as tactical support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (Kuwait); Operation Sea Signal (Guantanamo Bay, Cuba); and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq). Having excelled in a number of varied assignments, he was selected for promotion and appointment as a warrant officer in 1997. Following his graduation from The Basic School the same year, he again served overseas in Okinawa, Japan, with multiple deployments to Korea, Guam, and Thailand. In 2002, he was selected and promoted to the commissioned rank of captain.

Upon his Marine Corps retirement in 2007, he embarked on a second career dedicated to the service of fellow veterans, volunteering and excelling in key leadership positions with the Marine Corps League “Toys for Tots” program; Military Officers Association of America (MOAA); Noncommissioned Officers Association of America (NCOA); and Honor Flight Bluegrass Chapter, an organization dedicated to transporting World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans to their respective memorials in Washington, DC. Since 2012, he has served in his current capacity as Greater Louisville Coordinator of the Marine Corps Reserve “Toys for Tots” program, through which he has been instrumental in the collection and subsequent disbursement of over 604,163 toys at Christmas, to just under 212,400 children in the central Kentucky counties of Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, Henry, and Owen, as well as the eastern Kentucky counties of Clay, Letcher, Breathitt, and Perry, bringing hope and joy to disadvantaged children.

During 2022, in his capacity as Commandant, Marine Corps League, Kentuckiana Detachment #729, he seized the opportunity to help alleviate suffering caused by catastrophic flooding of eastern Kentucky, destroying entire communities, including infrastructure, homes, and schools, and leaving more than 40 people dead. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, he immediately prepared a plan to assist those counties in which he had established compassionate relationships through the “Toys for Tots” distribution of excess toys collected in the Greater Louisville area. Marshalling support from fellow Marine Corps veterans, he organized and executed multiple emergency deliveries of essential items of clothing, bedding, towels, and cleaning supplies, while soliciting donations for the purchase of same, as needed.

Ever attentive to the needs of fellow Marine Corps veterans struggling under financial hardships, during 2022, he was instrumental in assisting a family of a deceased veteran with the payment of basic funeral expenses, as well as payment of past-due rental fees for a veteran temporarily unable to work due to a debilitating illness. During 2024, he was instrumental in arranging financial assistance for a Marine Corps veteran who had missed work as a custodian, due to surgery and its required recovery.

In the spirit of the late Martin G. Hanse, Sr., Corporal, United States Marine Corps, for whom this award is named, he has demonstrated compassion, charity, and philanthropy in alleviating suffering and helping those less fortunate, substantially improving the lives of others, and bringing joy and hope to thousands of disadvantaged Kentucky children through his year-round dedication to the Marine Corps Reserve “Toys for Tots” program. By his actions and leadership, he has left no Marine known to him to be struggling, on the battlefield of life, epitomizing our organizational mantra “Marines Serving Marines.”