Memorabilia illustrates Bowden's military heritage

  • Published
  • By Shawn Jacobs
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  A couple of old bugles, a worn Army jacket and a gold pan may not mean much to the average observer.

But to Jeannie Bowden, facility security officer (FSO) for Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), they represent her family's rich military service that goes back generations. Bowden proudly displays the items - gifts from her father - in her office at Arnold AFB.

The bugles and hat date back to World War I, when Bowden's grandfather, Guy Carpenter, was a part of the Bugle Corps for the U.S. Army. Guy was born in 1897 and began working in the Eastern Kentucky coal mines at the age of 11. In 1916, he joined the Army. The bugles were used to play taps and to indicate other daily routines of camp. After boot camp, Guy's division was sent to defend the U.S. border from Mexicans crossing illegally into the United States.

Guy was stationed at Eagle Pass, Texas, which was the first U.S. settlement on the Rio Grande River. He was discharged upon the signing of the armistice in 1918 that ended the war and he spent the remainder of his life working in coal mines and representing the miners as financial secretary of the Local United Mineworkers Union.

"The hat is so well preserved," Bowden observed. "I'm not even sure how he was able to do that, but I love the fact that I have the photograph of him with his Bugle Corps wearing the very hat that I have in the office."

The Army jacket belonged to Bowden's uncle, Herman Carpenter, who made a career in the military after enlisting in the Army in 1942 during World War II. He served with the 38th Infantry Division in the South Pacific. Discharged after the Japanese surrendered in 1945, Herman returned home to Lynch, Ky., married, re-enlisted and served the remainder of his career as a master sergeant.

Herman was the platoon leader and supply sergeant for Baker Company, 185th Engineer Combat Battalion on the central Korean front, enduring a brutal 17-day fight against the Chinese in freezing weather at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Herman was also stationed in England and at several bases in the United States. After serving in the Vietnam War, he retired from military service. He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Silver Star.

Bowden said she is proud to possess his jacket, as well as a few other pieces of memorabilia.

"My dad gave me that because it had the Carpenter name on it and he thought that with the other memorabilia it made our story more complete," she said.

The prized gold pan belonged to Bowden's aunt, Geneva Carpenter. In 1944, Geneva applied to work for the FBI in Washington, D.C., received her security clearance and became an FBI messenger. Each messenger was assigned a particular route for delivery of confidential correspondence.

After a couple of years, Geneva returned to Lynch, Ky., to complete her education. She committed her life to teaching in independent schools for U.S. military children around the world, including Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, Okinawa and her last assignment, Adak, in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

"Geneva had a great heart and - probably because of the family's military history - she had a great heart for the military," Bowden said. "As a matter of fact ... I have native dolls from Okinawa and all the various places that my aunt went to teach U.S. military schoolchildren.

"When she retired from teaching school in Alaska, as you can imagine, they gave her a beautiful commemorative gold pan. She loved Alaska and retired in Anchorage."

Bowden's father, who lives in the small community of Smith's Grove, Ky., near Bowling Green, wanted Bowden to have the memorabilia due to his daughter's connection to the military at AEDC.

"My dad was so proud that I worked at a military installation and that I'm involved with national security responsibilities," Bowden said. "Even though they have two sons and a grandson, Dad wanted me to have these while I'm working here to display in my office. When my career is over, he'd like me to pass them on to my brother, who can pass them on to his son."

Bowden, who has worked at AEDC for 32 years, lives in Tullahoma with her husband, John, who worked at AEDC for 30 years as a pipefitter/welder and later as Turbines craft supervisor. They have five children and 11 grandchildren. With ancestors whose military involvement dates back until at least the Civil War, Bowden believes it is no accident that her career involves national security.

"It has been such a privilege to support the U.S. military national security mission at AEDC all these years," she said. "It has given me the opportunity to carry on part of the military heritage of my family.

"Sometimes you figure out what you're supposed to do in life and sometimes you're just not sure. I'm confident that I'm right where I'm supposed to be."