BOWER, John Robert 1923 - 1944
BOWER, ANDERSON, BROWN, ROLAND, ALLENDER
Posted By: Richard K. Thompson (email)
Date: 6/8/2011 at 20:37:15
(Note: Admin-transcribed articles that predate and post-date the first obituary are below the first obituary.)
Fairfield Daily Ledger
Monday April 19, 1948
Pg. 1 and continued to Pg. 8SERVICES FOR WAR VET WILL BE WEDNESDAY
The third of Jefferson county's World War II dead to be returned home for burial will be laid to rest in Evergreen cemetery Wednesday afternoon.
He is Pvt. John BOWER, son of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd A. BOWER, 305 E. Kirkwood street. The body arrived in the United States March 22, 1948, and will arrive in Fairfield shortly before the service Wednesday.
Graveside services will be held in Evergreen cemetery at 2:30 p.m. with Rev. Darwin Blomgren in charge. Arrangements are in charge of the Weston Behner funeral home.
The Fairfield V.F.W. and Legion posts will have charge of the military honors.
The flag-draped casket will arrive at the Rock Island depot at 1:46 p.m. Wednesday on train No. 40. The train does not ordinarily stop at Fairfield, but by special request, it will stop Wednesday so the body may be removed, and taken directly to the cemetery.
Pvt. BOWER was killed in action July 27, 1944 (sic. July 26, 1944 on his headstone), on the Island of Guam. He left the United States for service in the Pacific war theater in February the same year.
His parents first received word of Pvt. BOWER's death on Aug. 24, 1944. Later they received a letter from their son's commanding officer, Capt. Robert A. Burgess, of the 306th Infantry Division. It read in part, "Your son died bravely in the face of enemy action and he acted in a way which should make you proud of him."
John Robert BOWER was born September 24, 1924, near Fairfield. He was the youngest son of Floyd A. and Eva ANDERSON BOWER, resident of Fairfield for the past several years. He attended school at Lockridge and Fairfield, and graduated from the Fairfield high school with the class of 1943.
Before he entered the armed forces in October, 1943, he had been employed at the Dexter company since his graduation. Besides his parents, Pvt. BOWER is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Charles D. BROWN, Mrs. Henry T. ROLAND, and Mrs. Jake ALLENDER, all of Fairfield.
He is also survived by a brother, Lester, a veteran of overseas service in the European theater, his aged grandfather, A. F. BOWER, Sigourney, and several other relatives.
Donald Canny, of near Eldon, and a buddy of Pvt. BOWER while the two were in service, is planning to attend the services Wednesday, and will wear the uniform with the shoulder patch and insignia of their division.
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* Transcribed for genealogy purposes. I am not related to the person(s) mentioned.Note: The headstone engraved DOB is Sept. 23, 1923 and DOD is July 26, 1944 (Evergreen cemetery, Fairfield, Iowa. 2nd.043.). The obituary stated DOB is September 24, 1924 and the DOD is stated as being July 27, 1944.
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Personal note: This contributor was looking through the April 1948 microfilm records of the Fairfield Daily Ledger at the Fairfield Public Library on June 8, 2011, while searching for the obituary of another person. This item came to the attention during the viewing of images, and it was thought that Pvt. BOWER deserved to have this item transcribed, and his headstone photo taken, in his memory for his military service and repatriation back to Fairfield in 1948 for burial.By sheer coincidence, this contributor for a number of years worked at the Fairfield Glove company in Fairfield with Pvt. BOWER's sister, Kathryn BOWER ALLENDER (Mrs. Clarence Jacob "Jake" ALLENDER). Kathryn passed away on June 1, 2011 at the age of 95, and this contributor attended her funeral visitation on Monday, June 6th. Today is June 8th, so it is interesting that the lives of John and Kathryn would intersect in this way with this contributor, their deaths 67 years apart. The arrangements for both funerals were essentially handled by the same funeral home (Weston Behner Funeral Home/Behner Funeral Home).
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Added by Admin, August 2020 --
"The Fairfield Daily Ledger"
Friday, August 25, 1944
Front Page, Column 7Killed In C. Pacific
Pvt. John BOWER, 19, a graduate of last year's local senior class, has been killed in action in the Central Pacific, according to an official war department telegram received this morning by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. F. A. BOWER, 305 E. Kirkwood St. The date and further details concerning Pvt. BOWER's death will await additional word from the government.
BOWER, a BAR (Brownie [sic - Browning] Automatic Rifle) Gunner with the U. S. Infantry, had been in Hawaii since March. After graduating from Fairfield high school in '43, he was employed during that summer at the Dexter before being called up with the October Jefferson county group of selectees. After basic in Texas, he came home on furlough in February and was shipper (sic) out to the Hawaiian Islands immediately after arriving at the west coast port of embarkation. The last letter received, dated July 4, mentioned he was pretty lonesome but did not tell much of what he was doing.
The BOWERs' (sic) have another son, Lester, 25, in the U. S. Army with the invasion group in France. He has been in since '42 and landed in England last November.
Besides Lester, and his parents, Pvt. BOWER is survived by three sisters, Miss Frances BOWER, dental assistant to Dr. A. H. Singley; Charlotte, at home; and Mrs. Jake ALEXANDER (sic - ALLENDER) of 607 E. Adams St.
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"The Fairfield Daily Ledger"
Friday, October 6, 1944
Front Page, Column 3Killed On Guam, July
Additional information concerning the death of Pvt. John BOWER, 19, who was reported killed in action in the Central pacific, has been received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. F. A. BOWER, 305 East Kirkwood St. The first telegram received by the war department, August 24, did not give the date of his death.
A few days ago a letter from the acting adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Robert H. Dunlop, arrived which read in part as follows: "A report has now been received that your son was killed in action on July 27, 1944. The message contained no other information."
The letter from Pvt. BOWER's commanding officer, Capt. Robert A. Burgess of the 306th Infantry, gave information as follows: "You have no doubt been informed by the War Department of the death in action of your son, John, on the Island of Guam. I realize that there is very little that I can say which will lessen your grief at an irreparable loss. What I can say is that your son died bravely in the face of enemy action and that he acted in a way which should make you proud of him. His passing is sincerely mourned not only by myself but by his comrades in the Company who knew and liked him.
"If in any respect I can be of assistance to you, do not hesitate to communicate with me. I am not permitted by army regulations to communicate the place and date of your son's burial. However, should you desire this information, it may be secured by writing to The Quartermaster General, Washington, D. C. We all lost a good man and a good soldier."
In the letter from Major General J. A. Ulio he said, "I fully understand your desire to learn as much as possible regarding the circumstances leading to your son's death and I wish that there were more information available to give you. Unfortunately reports of this nature contain only the briefest details as they are prepared under battle conditions and the means of transmission are limited. May the knowledge of his heroic service to his country, even unto death, be a sustaining comfort to you."
Pvt. BOWER, a graduate of the class of '43 Fairfield high school, was a BAR (Brownie [sic] Automatic Rifle) Gunner with the U. S. Infantry and had been in Hawaii since March. After his graduation he was employed during the summer at the Dexter before being called up with the October Jefferson county group of selectees. The BOWERs' other son, Lester, 25, is seeing active duty with the invasion group in France, landing in England November of last year.
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"The Fairfield (Ia.) Daily Ledger"
Monday, October 9, 1944
Page FIVE, Column 4CARD OF THANKS
We wish to express our deep gratitude and appreciation for the many expressions of sympathy from our neighbors and friends in the loss of our son, Pvt. John Robert BOWER.
Mr. and Mrs. Floyd A. BOWER and family.
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"The Fairfield (Ia.) Daily Ledger"
Wednesday, May 28, 1947
Page EIGHT, Column 5Receive Picture Of Cemetery In Guam
Mr. and Mrs. Floyd BOWER, 305 E. Kirkwood street, have just received from the government a picture of the cemetery in which their youngest son, Pvt. John BOWER is buried. It is a military cemetery located on Guam and as far as can be learned, young BOWER is the only Jefferson county boy buried there.
Many of Pvt. BOWER's former buddies have called at the BOWER home with pictures taken on Guam. Glenn Canny of Eldon who was severely wounded at the same time BOWER was killed, was among those who visited here. He and his wife, a former navy nurse, are now living on a farm near Eldon.
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"The Fairfield Daily Ledger"
Monday, March 22, 1948
Front Page, Column 2BODY OF JOHN BOWER ARRIVES IN U. S. TODAY
The body of the third Jefferson county war dead to be returned home for burial arrived in the United States today. John BOWER, who was killed in action July 27, 1944, in the Pacific Theater of action, is among 3,257 servicemen whose bodies arrived this morning at Oakland, California.
Pvt. BOWER was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd BOWER, 305 E. Kirkwood street, Fairfield.
Mr. and Mrs. BOWER received a telegram from the government recently stating their son's body was being returned to the United States aboard the Army Transport, Walter W. Schwenk.
The ship docked at the Oakland Army Base about 8:30 a.m. today when brief services marked the sad homecoming.
The Schwenk was the third funeral ship from the Pacific war theater. Most of the dead are U. S. Marines who fell in the battle for the Marianas. Pvt. BOWER is one of the few army men included in the more than 3000 war dead.
The great majority of the remains were placed aboard the Schwenk at Tanapag, Saipan, on February 26. A brief stop was made at Honolulu, where an additional 100 remains were taken aboard the vessel before it departed on March 11 for the final leg of the voyage to the United States.
The group aboard the Schwenk is the largest to be returned from the Pacific to date. Two other vessels have returned war dead from the Pacific area and three from the European battle zones since the army's return of World War II dead began last October.
It is expected, army officials stated, that from 10 days to three weeks would elapse between the arrival of the Shwenk and final interment.
Pvt. BOWER entered the army in October, 1943. After his basic training in the United States, he sailed for Hawaii in February, 1944. In July of the same year he was killed in action on the Island of Guam.
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"The Fairfield (Ia.) Daily Ledger"
Tuesday, April 20, 1948
Page Two, Column 4V.F.W. AUXILIARY WOMEN TO ATTEND BOWER FUNERAL
The Woman's auxiliary of the V.F.W. will attend the funeral servives (sic) of John BOWER tomorrow afternoon.
All members are asked to meet in Central park tomorrow at 1 p.m. to attend the services in a body. All girls with uniforms and caps please wear them.
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"The Fairfield (Ia.) Daily Ledger"
Thursday, April 22, 1948
Page Six, Column 4War Veteran Laid To Rest Following Impressive Rites
The flag-draped casket of Pvt. John BOWER arrived in Fairfield about 1:50 p.m. yesterday, accompanied by a military escort, and was taken directly to the Evergreen cemetery where the body was laid to rest.
Pvt. BOWER was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd A. BOWER, 305 E. Kirkwood street. He was killed in action July 27, 1944, on Guam Island in the Pacific war theater.
M Sgt Charles B. Tobin, from the quartermaster depot at Kansas City, accompanied the casket to Fairfield. He took part in the military services held at the cemetery, and presented the flag to Mrs. BOWER.
Rev. Darwin Blomgren, pastor of the Baptist church, was in charge of the short but impressive services. The local V.F.W. and Legion Posts had charge of the military honors at the cemetery.
Donald Canny, of near Eldon and a buddy of Pvt. BOWER while the two were in service, attended the services yesterday. He wore the uniform of their unit, and assisted M Sgt. Tobin during the ceremonies.
Pvt. BOWER is the third of Jetferson (sic) county's war dead to be returned home for burial.
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*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.
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