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Harold Gardiner Bowen, Jr. was born in Annapolis, the son of a retired Navy Vice Admiral, and he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1933. During World War II, he was a destroyer commander in the Pacific and participated in combat operations against the Japanese in the Solomon Islands, Bougainville, Rabaul and Kavieng. During the Korean War, he commanded a destroyer division in combat operations. He received a master's degree in metallurgical engineering at Carnegie Institute of Technology, and he had served at the Naval Gun Factory, the Bureau of Ordnance and as an ordnance specialist in an American aid mission to Turkey. In the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, he had been director of the Atomic Energy Division and commander of the operational test and evaluation force. As president of the Pueblo Court of Inquiry, Vadm. Bowen led the official Navy investigation of the surrender of the lightly armed intelligence-gathering ship Pueblo to Communist naval and air units off the North Korean coast on Jan. 23, 1968. Pueblo's captain, Lloyd M. Bucher, testified that resistance would have been futile and that he had an obligation to save the lives of his crew. Bucher and his men spent 11 months as prisoners of the North Koreans, and his decision to surrender set off a heated debate in and outside the Navy. The Court of Inquiry recommended Bucher be court-martialed, but the Navy did not follow that recommendation, and Bucher retired in 1973. Vice Adm. Bowen's decorations included a Distinguished Service medal with gold star, two Legion of Merit medals with Combat V, three Bronze Star medals with gold star and Combat V, and three Navy Commendation medals. In retirement, he was a co-founder of Virginia's Dominion Federal Savings and Loan Association and was president of Sparcom, an intelligence analysis company. He was a consultant to Hudson Wire Co. and DuPont Co. in electrical wire and cable technology. He was an avid sportsman, and in 1998 and 1999, he held the U.S. championship title for squash singles over the age of 85.
USS Bowen (DE-1079) was the first ship to be named in his honor.
(US Navy photo #80-G-603565 now in the collections of the National Archives) |
Bill Gonyo |
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1972: Norfolk VA - in drydock |
Douglas C. Rahn
All 3 Photos
© Douglas C. Rahn |
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1972: Norfolk VA - in drydock |
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1972: Norfolk VA - in drydock |
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November 1975: North Atlantic |
Richard Leonhardt
Both Photos
© Richard Leonhardt |
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November 1975: North Atlantic |
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undated image, taken prior to hull upgrade |
Robert M. Cieri |
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undated image, taken after hull upgrade |
John Rutherford |
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27 April 1983: At sea - The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) steams with its battle group during exercise Bright Star '83. Front to Back: the frigate USS Bowen (FF-1079), the guided missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG-42), the guided missile cruiser USS Belknap (CG-26), Eisenhower and three Egyptian fast missile craft. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-90-04854 from the Defense Visual Iinformation Center) |
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22 October 1984: At sea - Port bow view of Bowen coming along the flagship USS LaSalle (AGF-3). (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-85-01696 from the DVIC) |
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22 October 1984: At sea - Port bow view of Bowen underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-85-01693 from the DVIC) |
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22 October 1984: At sea - A low oblique port beam view of Bowen underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-85-01692 from the DVIC) |
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22 October 1984: At sea - Aerial starboard view of Bowen underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-85-01691 from the DVIC) |
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January 1985: At sea - Aerial port bow view of Bowen underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-85-01690 from the DVIC) |
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26 September 1988: Hampton Roads - A starboard bow view of Bowen underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-90-04545 from the DVIC) |
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26 September 1988: Hampton Roads - A partial starboard amidships view. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-90-04554 from the DVIC) |
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26 September 1988: Hampton Roads - A close-up partial starboard view. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-90-04549 from the DVIC) |
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26 September 1988: Hampton Roads - A view of the SPS-40 air search radar, upper left, and the Mark 68 gunfire control system (GFCS), right. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-90-04552 from the DVIC) |
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26 September 1988: Hampton Roads - A partial starboard bow view, showing that portion of the ship between the funnel and the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) helicopter hangar. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-90-04550 from the DVIC) |
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26 September 1988: Hampton Roads - A close-up view of the SPS-40 air search radar, center, and the smaller SPS-10 surface search radar, right. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-90-04548 from the DVIC) |
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26 September 1988: Hampton Roads - A partial bow view of Bowen) underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-9004546 from the DVIC) |
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14 July 1990: NavSta Norfolk VA: The frigates Bowen (FF-1079), left, Trippe (FF-1075), center, and USS Glover (FF-1098) lie tied up at Pier 7. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-90-11101 by Don S. Montgomery, USN (ret.) from the DVIC) |
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14 July 1990: NavSta Norfolk VA - The frigates USS Bowen (FF-1079), left, USS Trippe (FF-1075), center, a-nd USS Glover (FF-1098) lie tied up at Pier 7. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-90-11102 by Don S. Montgomery from the DVIC) |
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1 July 1993: NavSta Staten Island NY - A view of the training frigate USS Bowen) (FFT-1079) and other ships moored at a pier at Naval Station, New York. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-93-05464 by CWO3 Ed Bailey from the DVIC) |
