MEMORIAL BIOGRAPHY for DALLAS BOWMAN, WWII VETERAN
NEVER FORGOTTEN: Proudly Served Our Country and our Community
It was an honor and privilege to talk with Mr. Dallas Bowman on the 30th day of January 2019. Mr. Bowman was born in Augusta County, Weyers Cave, Virginia on October 30th, 1922.
He enlisted in 1942 at the age of 20; attended primary training in Arcadia, Florida (May-June 1943); basic training in Montgomery, Alabama (July-Sept 1943); and other training sites including Lawrenceville, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Courtland, Alabama.
Mr. Bowman trained in planes including the Stearman PT-17 bi-plane, Vultee BT-13 Valiant, and twin engine Beechcraft AT-10. He piloted heavy bombers including the B-24 Liberator, B-17 Flying Fortress, and the B-29 Super Fortress. During his service, Mr. Bowman was assigned to the 2nd and 20th United States Army Air Forces, 498th Bomb Group, and 73rd Bombardment Wing. During most of World War II, the 498th was stationed in the Pacific Ocean on the island of Saipan; a point from where it could conduct bombing missions over Japanese controlled territories as well as the Japanese mainland.
Bowman piloted missions including the “The Last Raid” on August 14th, 1945, just after the nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This mission included over 1,000 heavy bombers dropping over 8 million pounds of ordinance, the final mission that forced Japan into unconditional surrender, bringing World War II to an end. One of his most dangerous missions was after the end of the war making a supply drop to a prisoner of war camp deep within a valley. In order to hit near the target he had to fly dangerously low to make the drop and then quickly increase altitude to avoid crashing into the mountain at the end of the valley.
Mr. Bowman was very fortunate not to have been injured during the war but had two close calls. The first was returning from Guam to Oakland, California; landing a B-24 in a rain storm by radio signal only. The second involved a head on collision in an automobile while driving from one base to another in the United States. Thankfully, no one was hurt in either vehicle.
Part of Mr. Bowman’s career included being Parts Manager at the Studebaker dealership in Timberville, VA. He also consulted with several businesses in the Shenandoah and Roanoke Valleys and developed special accounting procedures for automotive dealerships.
For Mr. Bowman’s 95th birthday, he flew in a restored PT-17 Stearman bi-plane like the ones that he trained in prior to entering World War II.
Bowman lived in Roanoke, Virginia with his two daughters Barbara and Brenda, Granddaughter Tracy, along with other family and friends. He was an active member of the 8th Air Force Fellowship Group and participated at venues including the National D-Day Memorial and Profiles of Honor. He passed away March 13, 2019.
Created DHS, Veterans Biographies Foundation, 2-9-19