HAMMETT LEE BOWEN JR

Medal of Honor · awarded posthumously

For conspicuous gallantry

Hammett Lee Bowen JR received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, for his actions on June 27, 1969. The official citation reads:

Staff Sergeant Bowen's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

S/Sgt. Bowen distinguished himself while serving as a platoon sergeant during combat operations in Binh Duong Province, Republic of Vietnam. S/Sgt. Bowen's platoon was advancing on a reconnaissance mission into enemy controlled terrain when it came under the withering crossfire of small arms and grenades from an enemy ambush force. S/Sgt. Bowen placed heavy suppressive fire on the enemy positions and ordered his men to fall back. As the platoon was moving back, an enemy grenade was thrown amid S/Sgt. Bowen and 3 of his men. Sensing the danger to his comrades, S/Sgt. Bowen shouted a warning to his men and hurled himself on the grenade, absorbing the explosion with his body while saving the lives of his fellow soldiers. S/Sgt. Bowen's extraordinary courage and concern for his men at the cost of his life served as an inspiration to his comrades and are in the highest traditions of the military service and the U.S. Army.

Bowen's Medal of Honor and other memorabilia about his life are on display in the lobby of the Hammett Bowen Operations Center for the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Ocala Florida.

Hammett Bowen Jr. Elementary School in Ocala, Florida, is named in his honor.

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Citation text as reproduced in Wikipedia’s article on Hammett Lee Bowen JR; Medal of Honor citations are official U.S. government records. See also the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and all Medal of Honor recipients on the Wall.