Frank Sayles Bowen Jr. (March 4, 1905 – September 24, 1976) was a United States Army major general who served as commander of the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment during the Korean War.
Early life and education
Bowen was born in Manila, Philippines, to Mildred A. Bowen and Frank S. Bowen.[1]
Military career
Bowen attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1926.[1] From mid-1939 to mid-1947, his career tracked that of his mentor Robert L. Eichelberger. He served under Eichelberger in the 30th Infantry Regiment and,[2] in 1940, he served as aide-de‐camp to Eichelberger while the latter was superintendent of West Point.[1] With the United States entry into World War II, Eichelberger took command of the 77th Infantry Division with Bowen as his Personnel Officer (G-1). Eichelberger soon took command of I Corps with Bowen serving as assistant Operation Officer and then Operations Officer (G-3).[2]
Colonel Bowen would receive his first Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on 12 December 1942 during the Battle of Buna–Gona.[3] In August 1944, Eichelberger was given command of the newly formed Eighth United States Army and Bowen joined him as G-3.[4]
Bowen served as commander of the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment and led the unit in the Battle of Yongju, Operation Tomahawk and Operation Courageous during the Korean War. He served as commander of the 101st Airborne Division in 1955 and, that August, he became commander of Fort Jackson and remained in command of the base until August 1956.[1] In September 1956 he became head of Military Assistance Advisory Group China in Taiwan, personally befriending Chang Kai-Shek, and remained in that post until July 1958.[5][6]
Bowen retired from the army in 1964.[1] After retiring from the Army in 1964, he served as executive director of the South Carolina Traffic Safety Council and also headed the South Carolina chapter of the American Cancer Society.[1]
He died at Moncrief Army Hospital, Columbia, South Carolina on 24 September 1976.[1]
He was married to Elizabeth Kelly Bowen and their son, Frank S. Bowen III also graduated from West Point.[1]
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Gen. Frank S. Bowen; Served in the Pacific". The New York Times. September 26, 1976. p. 39. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ a b Eichelberger, Robert (2017). Our jungle road to Tokyo. Lulu. p. 43. ISBN 9781387367078.
- ^ "Frank Sayles Bowen". Military Times.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ Southern Philippines: The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II. Government Printing Office. p. 34. ISBN 9780160882807.
- ^ Craft, Stephen (2015). American Justice in Taiwan: The 1957 Riots and Cold War Foreign Policy. University Press of Kentucky. p. 64. ISBN 9780813166360.
- ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, China, Volume III - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
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