Richard Bowen was drafted into the
Army in 1966, and received his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Bowen was originally on orders to go to Vietnam after advanced training, but his
orders were changed because of a stint in the hospital. He was sent instead to
Kissingen, Germany and assigned to Company E, 10th Engineer Battalion, 3rd
Infantry Division. Bowen was soon assigned as the unit's clerk due to his
college experience, and spent his spare time traveling throughout Germany, to
include Berlin
Photos
Caption
Annie and Walter Cox, great grandparents of Richard Bowen, with children. In front - Annie, Harold Lloyd, Walter, and Will Whiton. In back - Walter and Annie’s daughters, Beatrice Cherry, Bealuh Hopkins, Edna Davis, Valerie Whiton, and Ruth Powers. Where:
UnknownWhen:
Circa 1922Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Rich Bowen’s grandmother Beulah Hopkins.Where:
UnknownWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator
Caption
Rich Bowen’s mother Helen Bowen.Where:
UnknownWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator
Caption
The 1953 Colp Attucks Grade School basketball team. Top, left to right Richard Bowen, Jr., manager, Willie Williams, Ivan Jefferson, Lary Martin, Sef Vinson and Samuel L. Webb, coach. Front, Oran Dillard, Raymon Kincaid, Sonny Brown, and Ebert Herrison.Where:
UnknownWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Public domain
Caption
Rich Bowen played football for the Herrin High School Tigers, and was selected for the All-State football team. The caption reads “Richard Bowen, Senior, 6’, 165 lbs.”Where:
UnknownWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Public domain
Caption
Bowen in his official military photo during Basic Training.Where:
Ft. Leonard Wood, MissouriWhen:
1967Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Bowen as he appeared in Basic Training. “Having a great day at work,” he wrote later.Where:
Ft. Leonard Wood, MissouriWhen:
1967Ownership:
Unknown
Caption
Specialist Bowen working as the company clerk for Company E, 10th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division.Where:
Near Kissingen, GermanyWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen participates in field maneuvers.Where:
Army’s main training area in Germany, GrafenwoehrWhen:
Circa 1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen and buddy Private Morrow of Chicago unwind at the end of the day.Where:
Circa 1968When:
UnknownOwnership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen and several barracks mates have some fun. Specialist Baker, from Canada, displays the Canadian flag. Where:
UnknownWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen’s Basic Training Platoon assembles for a group photo. Bowen is in the third row, second from the left.Where:
Ft. Leonard WoodWhen:
1967Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Bowen’s Combat Engineer unit conducting training. The unit’s mission included building roads, bridges, barricades, and demolitions work.Where:
Grafenwoehr, GermanyWhen:
1968Ownership:
Unknown
Caption
Bowen’s Combat Engineer unit conducting training. The unit’s mission included building roads, bridges, barricades, and demolitions work. Where:
Grafenwoehr, GermanyWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen stands atop an armored personnel carrier during field training.Where:
Grafenwoehr, GermanyWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Rich enjoys some time with children. Where:
Rural GermanyWhen:
Circa 1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Specialist Bowen is flanked by tents his unit used as temporary shelter when on field maneuvers. Where:
GermanyWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
“Night reading,” reads the caption for this photo of a fellow clerk in the commander’s tent one night. Bowen was trying his hand at photography at the time. Where:
UnknownWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen and a buddy were “just messing around” when this photo was taken. He was wearing the Colonel’s helmet at the time, with the distinctive Colonel’s eagle barely visible. Where:
UnknownWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Rich Bowen begins his journey into East Berlin during a tour of the divided city he and a buddy made while on leave. Where:
East BerlinWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate, which marked the border between East and West Berlin during the years that the Berlin Wall divided the city. Where:
Brandenburg Gate, BerlinWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen has his photo taken near the Berlin Wall during his visit to the city. Where:
Berlin, GermanyWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen took this photo of some East German guards keeping a vigilant eye on the Berlin Wall, looking east into the Soviet sector. Where:
Berlin, GermanyWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
The entrance to a Soviet War Memorial and cemetery. Where:
East GermanyWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Specialist Rich Bowen stands in front of one of the statues that marked the entrance to the Soviet War Memorial, taken during his visit. Where:
East BerlinWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Rich Bowen turns the camera west, into West Berlin, during his visit. Where:
East BerlinWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
This grand building, a former library, was destroyed during the Second World War, but was neither demolished nor rebuilt by the Soviets or East Germans. Where:
East BerlinWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Rich Bowen gets his picture taken in front of the Berlin Wall during his visit to the city.Where:
Berlin WallWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
A view of the dangerous strip of land that separated East from West. The soft sand was meant to slow down anyone trying to scale the wall. Further deterrents were the shards of glass embedded into the top of the wall, and land mines strewn in the sand. Where:
UnknownWhen:
UnknownOwnership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Rich Bowen stands next to one of the East German ceremonial guards during his visit. Where:
East BerlinWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Bowen took this shot of one of the more magnificent buildings during his visit to the city.Where:
BerlinWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Rich Bowen stands before the Brandenburg Gate during his tour of East and West Berlin. Where:
BerlinWhen:
1968Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Rich’s father, Dick Bowen, works the bar at his place of business, “taking care of business”. Where:
Colp, IllinoisWhen:
Circa 1966Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Rich Bowen and “the women of my life.” From left to right are Rich, daughter Chantel, wife Cleatia, and mother Helen.Where:
UnknownWhen:
1991Ownership:
Narrator's photo