Veterans column: Hebron classmates John Brown, Bob Bowers join the US Army in Korean War
In the early 1940s, two Hebron High School classmates never dreamed they would share a harrowing experience on a battlefield in Korea.
John Henry Brown Jr. was born in 1929 and lived in Buckeye Lake. He enlisted in the Army in October 1947 and was assigned to the 23rd Infantry Division. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean Army invaded South Korea, and the United States sent troops to the Korean peninsula. On Oct. 25, 1950, Bob Paul Bowers, who was born in 1928 in Gratiot, was sworn into the Army and received basic training at Camp Pickett, Virginia. He arrived in Korea in March 1951 and was assigned to the 23rd Infantry Regiment, where he reunited with his Hebron High School classmate.
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On March 5, 1942, Brown and Bowers were both home on leave when the Newark Advocate published their stories of the Battle for Heartbreak Ridge. On Sept. 23, the men were at the base of a group of hills in North Korea. Brown, who was a platoon leader, remembered he “had reached a point just 15 yards from the top. However, enemy fire was coming in torrents. His unit was ordered to withdraw to the main battle line. About 2:00 pm he saw his lieutenant ‘get it’ about 75 yards in front of the lines. He made his way through the withering fire to rescue the officer. While carrying the bullet-ridden man back to the lines, John stepped momentarily to rest. He felt something hit his right leg, just below the knee. ‘I thought a twig had brushed against it. I didn’t know I’d been hit until I tried to stand up. I couldn’t get up and I put my hands down to my legs to see what was wrong. Both trouser legs were soaked with blood.’ It was then that Bob Bowers entered the scene. He crawled out and pulled his buddy back to the lines. Despite the fact that he was much smaller than John, he put him on his shoulders and started a five-hour trip down the steep and dangerous cliff. ‘It was rugged’ Bowers agreed modestly. Finally, he carried his dazed pal into the first aid station.”
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Brown received a “pint and a half of blood plasma” and was flown to Seoul; Bowers returned to the front. The platoon leader also survived, and Brown was awarded the Bronze Star.
On March 26, 1952, another Newark Advocate article featured the pair's photo and the headline “Blood Speeds Hebron Man’s Recovery.” Their story was used to encourage Hebron residents to donate a pint of blood when the bloodmobile visited the village. Hebron’s “quota was 125 pints of blood.”
Bob Bowers finished his enlistment and was discharged. He returned home, raised a family and retired from Kaiser Aluminum. He died on July 2, 1987, and is buried at Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Lancaster. John Brown returned to the Army and continued his service until 1965. He died on Oct. 16, 2013, in Florida and is buried at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.
Doug Stout is the Licking County Library Local History Coordinator. You may contact him at 740.349.5571 or dstout@lickingcountylibrary.org.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Veterans column: Hebron classmates serve in US Army during Korean War
