James Bowdren

Date of Birth: 07/28/1951
Neighborhood: Olney
High School: Olney High School
Street: N. Marshall Street
Branch of Service: Army
Rank: CPL
Date of Casualty: 11/21/1970
Province of Casualty: Quang Ngai
Philadelphia Memorial Panel: Panel 3
Panel Row: 9

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Bowdren enlisted in the Army a month after turning 17. The former Olney High School student served in Germany for a year and was shipped to Vietnam in August 1970, joining Company A of the 3rd Battalion, 8th infantry, 4th Infantry Division. A mortar gunner and rifleman, he avoided telling his parents he was in combat until a week before his death on Nov. 21, 1970 when he told them of being awarded a medal. He was 19 years old. Besides his parents, Bowdren was survived by two brothers and a sister.

Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial