NEWS of the BOYS in the SERVICE
Mrs. R. S. Bowers writes that her sons, both of whom are lieutenants in the army, have notified her that they have reached their overseas assignments. Lieut. James R. Bowers, who is combat intelligence officer for his battalion, is in New Guinea. His address is Lieut. James R. Bowers O-443771, APO No. 31 B care postmaster, San Francisco, Calif. Lieut. Richard G. Bowers is in command of an infantry company in north Ireland. His address is APO No. 15178, care postmaster New York, New York. Newspapers are not permitted to designate the units to which men are attached.
Source: LeMars Semi-Weekly Sentinel, May 5, 1944
NEWS OF THE BOYS IN THE SERVICE
In the item in Tuesday’s issue about the sons of Major and Mrs. R. S. Bowers, the Sentinel had their names reversed. Lieut. Richard Bowers went into France with the invasion and Lieut. James Bowers has been somewhere in the southwest Pacific for several months.
Source: LeMars Semi-Weekly Sentinel, July 28, 1944
LT. RICHARD BOWERS HOME FROM FRANCE
Is Recovering From Shrapnel Injuries
Major Russell S. Bowers of Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, was in LeMars, Monday and Tuesday, looking after business interests and calling on friends. Major and Mrs. Bowers spent Christmas in Chicago with the family of their son, Lt. Richard Bowers.
Lieut. Bowers was seriously wounded in the invasion of France last August and has been returned to this country for hospitalization after spending several weeks in hospitals in France and England. He was with an armored unit and received shrapnel injuries in the back. After a second operation, which was necessary to remove shrapnel from the spinal canal, Richard is progressing favorably toward complete recovery. He is spending a sick leave in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with his wife and a nine months old son, whom he had not before seen.
Lt. James Bowers is now on the Island of Moratai in the Southwest Pacific and Donald Bowers is in school at Fort Smith.
Source: LeMars Semi-Weekly Sentinel, Dec. 26, 1944
DON BOWERS IN NAVY
Fort Smith (Ark.) Times-Record—Don Bowers, Fort Smith high school’s all-around athlete, has swapped his football and basketball togs for a Navy uniform.
Bowers, who received his diploma a few days ago at the end of the first semester, was inducted into the Navy at Little Rock Wednesday. Placed on temporary inactive duty, he expects to be called in about 15 days. He hopes to become a radio gunner.
Bowers became a standout in high school athletics when his family moved to Fort Smith when Camp Chaffee was opened. His father is Major Russell S. Bowers, camp special services officer. Young Bowers will be 18, Feb. 6.
Bowers won his greatest glory as member of the Grizzly football team, although an injured knee kept him from performing up to par during the 1945 season. He also made a name for himself in local amateur golf circles and as a student was outstanding, having served as president of the high school student council during the first semester of this school year.
He’ll be the fourth member of the Bowers family to join Uncle Sam’s team. He has two brothers in the Army, Lieut. Richard Bowers, who was wounded in France and is hospitalized in this country, and Lieut. James Bowers, serving in the Pacific. The family lived at LeMars, Iowa, before Major Bowers, a reserve officer, was called to active duty and sent to Chaffee near the outset of the war. (Don left Friday, the 2nd, for the Naval training station at San Diego, Calif.)
Source: LeMars Globe-Post, February 8, 1945
***Further Research:
Richard George Bowers was born Mar. 9, 1920 to Russell Sage and Alice Violet Schneider Bowers. He died July 17, 2014.
Lt. Bowers served with the U.S. Army 41st Armored Infantry Regiment in World War II, entering Europe with the Normandy invasion at Omaha Beach. Wounded at Saint Lo, France, in Aug. 1944, he received a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and other commendations for his service to his country.
Source: ancestry.com
