The Appalachian Veterans Memorial Park held its first event on July 21 when the Marine Corps League Unicoi Detachment #783 honored retired USMC Capt. Albert “Al” Bowers.
Following a brief prayer courtesy of Chaplain Richard Hoibraten, Bowers was presented with a certificate that named him as an honorary member of Unicoi Detachment #783 and a challenge coin.
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“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” Bowers said, moved by the ceremony. More than that, he wished that the brave men with whom he served could have been there to see the moment. With tears in his eyes, he named the Marine Corps as “the world’s greatest fraternity.”
He was then serenaded by – and joined in singing – the theme of the Marine Corps.
Bowers was not the first member of his family to join the military, but while his father was a career Naval officer, Bowers himself always held an interest in the Marines. He attended college at Northwestern University in Illinois, and it was there he met a Marine recruiter in the library.
He signed up for Platoon Leaders Class, and upon graduation, was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. From there, he went to Marine Corps Base Quantico to start Basic School and eventually began teaching classes in small unit tactics and military law.
“I loved every minute of it, and was so proud to be a U.S. Marine,” Bowers said.
In time, he went on to the 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa, where he served as commander in a military police platoon. Bowers was attached to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade as Provost Marshall, and was sent to Da Nang, Vietnam, in 1964.
“We were instructed to divide our units into three lists. At the end of the first month, the people on the first list would go back to Okinawa and be replaced,” Bowers explained. “The idea was to have as many people as possible get the ‘Vietnam Experience.’ No surprise now to hear that this never happened, since we were all having that ‘great’ experience.”
In 1964, Bowers returned to the U.S. and served out the remainder of his three-year commitment as a Range Safety Officer at Camp Pendleton. Next, he traveled to his home state to attend the University of Georgia School of Law before taking a job in the legal department of Shell Oil Company.
As the Shell headquarters were in Houston, Bowers spent 20 years there before being transferred to Washington, D.C., where he headed Shell’s office. While on the job, he met Betty Hudson, who would become his second wife.
“We have just celebrated our 33rd anniversary. I think it’s going to last,” teased Bowers.
The pair moved around several more times before eventually settling in Blairsville, joining Betty’s nephew, Rob Mawyer. Mawyer credits the Bowers’ neighbor, Wayne Goddard, with organizing the ceremony.
What started as Bowers wanting to fly both the American and Marine Corps flags ended up inspiring Goddard, who was fixing Bowers’ flagpole. Goddard, wishing to honor veterans while they’re still alive, decided to hold a flag-raising in Bowers’ name.
Though the flag-raising was held at Bowers’ home, Mawyer suggested holding the presentation of the certificate and challenge coin at the Appalachian Veterans Memorial Park, and Hoibraten and the rest of the local Marine Corps League embraced the idea.
“He loves the Marines, and we seem to find them everywhere,” said Betty Bowers, adding that her husband tries to keep in touch with every fellow Marine he meets.
“It’s an honor for me, I tell you,” Bowers said at the end of the ceremony. “It was absolutely fantastic – it’s a total honor, and I greatly appreciate it.”
To check out Bowers’ commentary on corporate America, look up his thriller-satire novel, “Naked in a Pinstriped Suit,” published in 1997 and available on Amazon.
