By Mike Bowen, co-author, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site
In honor of Veteran’s Day, here is a piece about my grandpa, Charles Bowen, who served in WWII and was injured on a mission to Formosa. He was known by his family and friends as “Buster.”
From our book, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site:
(first person from Chuck Bowen)
June 15, 1945
WWII, South Pacific
Three years before my grandpa bought the ranch, Daddy served as a navigator on a B-25 bomber.
‘What’s that hammering?’ The engineer said.
‘The escape hatch has been hit!’ A 40mm shell turned to shrapnel and pieces flew everywhere.
Some shrapnel hit the engineer in the foot. Daddy helped get his shoe off.
‘Bowen, it looks like you got hit, there’s blood all over your back,’ the engineer said. ‘Good thing you were wearing your parachute.’
‘Don’t know why. We’re flying too low to use it.’
He also had his flak suit on, like a body armor jacket that had overlapping steel plates in a padded cover. The shrapnel went through the parachute, flak suit, and into his back. They likely saved his life (Weeks Interview with Buster Bowen, April 28, 2001).
Daddy grew up on the family ranch near Booker, Texas and wrote to his parents to keep them informed about his missions. He served in the 345th Air Apaches Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Corps.
He lived the rest of his life with small pieces of shrapnel in his back.
Buster’s parents sold their ranch in Texas and made a new life in Colorado in 1948 when they purchased a ranch on Sand Creek. In 1949, four years after his plane was hit with shrapnel, Buster would get married to Frances Taylor and purchase a ranch on Sand Creek adjacent to the property his parents purchased—the move from Texas to Colorado set the stage for Chuck Bowen to grow up on the ranch, learn the lay of the land, and many years later, make an incredible historical discovery. His knowledge and passion to make an archaeological discovery came to fruition in the late 90s.
As a WWII veteran and rancher, Buster knew about sacrifice. He left the life he knew in Texas for something completely unknown in Colorado. The move also gave them a fresh start after Buster’s sister was killed in an explosion at a home she and her husband were staying at for wheat harvest. You can read about it in chapter one of our book, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site. Her death happened while Buster was fighting in the War and was incredibly difficult for the family.
If the move to Colorado did not happen or if Buster had not survived the plane attack, the Lost Sand Creek Site would not have been found. Chuck was no doubt born to find the real location of Black Kettle’s village and Sand Creek battleground of 1864.
You can read more about the Sand Creek discovery in our last blog: (SoldierArtifact). Make sure to click on the Blog tab above to read more blogs. There are over 30 pages of blogs on this website.
Watch Buster share WWII stories in a 2001 interview: BowenWWIIStories.
