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Medal of Honor recipient Army SSG Hammett L. Bowen Jr.
Congressional Medal of Honor
Episode 2815 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature Army SSG Hammett L. Bowen Jr.and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. Information about him included in this episode comes Wikipedia and a story about him titled: In Ocala, Remembering The Bowens’ Sacrifices In Vietnam And Afterward that appeared on PBS station WUFT. That story was submitted by Quan McWil.
It was reported that: Hammett Lee Bowen Jr. was born on November 30, 1947, and died on June 27, 1969. He was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military’s highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.
Bowen joined the Army from Jacksonville, Florida in 1965, and received basic training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He then was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, to attend the Non-Commissioned Officer Course (NCOC). He was in Class 4–68, where he graduated as an infantryman NCO. By June 27, 1969, was serving as a staff sergeant in Company C, 2d Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. On that day, in Bình Dương Province, South Vietnam, during Operation Toan Thang III, Bowen smothered the blast of an enemy-thrown hand grenade with his body, sacrificing himself to protect those around him.
A portion of his Medal of Honor Citation reads as follows: As the platoon was moving back, an enemy grenade was thrown amid S/Sgt. Bowen and 3 of his men. Sensing the danger to his comrades, S/Sgt. Bowen shouted a warning to his men and hurled himself on the grenade, absorbing the explosion with his body while saving the lives of his fellow soldiers. S/Sgt. Bowen’s extraordinary courage and concern for his men at the cost of his life served as an inspiration to his comrades and are in the highest traditions of the military service and the U.S. Army.[2]
Hammett Bowen’s Medal of Honor and other memorabilia about his life are on display in the lobby of the Hammett Bowen Operations Center for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Ocala Florida. Hammett Bowen Jr. Elementary School in Ocala, Florida, is named in his honor.
Listen to episode 2815 and discover more about Army SSG Hammett L. Bowen Jr. and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
