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Letter: A classic 20th century American saga

Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Donald H. Bowman died on March 31. He was 95 years old and had been retired 30 years. You may not have known him, but his story is a classic 20th century American saga. He was born in 1924, the youngest of three boys of a small-time dairy farmer and his straight-backed wife who taught English in a local school just outside San Antonio, Texas.

The three boys all went to war after Pearl Harbor. The oldest brother survived the war and joined IBM, eventually moving to California. The middle brother joined the Army as a forward artillery observer and was killed near St.-Lo, France, in July 1944.

Don wanted to enlist in the Marines. Years later he maintained his primary motive was to wear the dress blue Marine uniform he saw in recruiting posters. Because he was underage, his mother had to give her permission for him to join. She did so and her youngest son became a member of the Second Marine Division.

He went on to serve at Guadalcanal (to his credit, ...

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