Operation Iraqi Freedom, Fallen Heroes, Iraq War 03/19/03

Larry R Bowman

Granite Falls, North Carolina

April 13, 2007

Age Military Rank Unit/Location
29 Army Sgt

513th Transportation Company, 57th Transportation Battalion, 593rd Corps Support Group

Fort Lewis, Washington

 Killed in Baghdad, Iraq, when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.

04/16/07 - Camp Lejeune

Sgt. Larry R. Bowman, 29, of Granite Falls died Friday when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad. The soldier was assigned to the 513th Transportation Company, 57th Transportation Battalion, 593rd Corps Support Group at Fort Lewis in Washington state. 
Other information about the deaths wasn't immediately available. Also Monday, the Department of Defense confirmed the deaths of two soldiers based at Fort Bragg who died in Afghanistan. 

Comments made to that article: 

04/16/07 
SGT Larry Bowman was a great Soldier and an even better friend. I've known him for a few years and was sad to see him leave Texas to continue his military career in Washington State. When his wife called me Friday, I was devastated. He was the best friend anybody could ever ask for. 

04/20/07 
I got this from my daughter in Kuwait today. I hope those that knew Larry find comfort in it. The man was loved by all.
04/16/07 

Granite Falls soldier dies in roadside attack
Larry Bowman, a 29-year-old Army sergeant from Granite Falls, died in Baghdad Friday when a roadside bomb exploded near the vehicle he was driving through the desert, officials said.

Bowman, whose convoy was heading back to its Kuwait base, left for the Middle East in July from Fort Lewis, Wash.

Bowman, a specialist with the 513th transportation company, was promoted to sergeant after his death, said Joe Hitt, a spokesperson at Fort Lewis.

He joined the Army in February 2003, Hitt said, and has received various awards including the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

04/16/07

Local soldier killed in Iraq
Twenty-nine-year-old Robby Bowman was more than just a soldier. According to his family, he also was a Southern gentlemen who would do all he could to help others. 

04/17/07
on 2ND Tour, he Was Proud to Serve: Granite Falls man killed in Iraq
“He just had so much love to give”

Sgt. Larry 'Robby' Bowman and his wife were planning to scale Mount Rainier when he returned from his second tour in Iraq this summer.

That was typical of Bowman, his family said -- he tackled life with enthusiasm. 'He had a motto he lived by,' said his wife, Michelle. ' `Life has a taste that the sheltered will never know.' '

Bowman, a 29-year-old Caldwell County native serving in Iraq, died Friday when a roadside bomb exploded near the vehicle he was driving. Bowman, who was promoted to sergeant after his death, was part of a convoy carrying supplies from Kuwait, officials said. 

04/20/07

a Return with Honor
The Charlotte Observer

April 20, 2007

Larry 'Robby' Bowman, a 29-year-old Army sergeant from Granite Falls, returned home Thursday with the dignity due a fallen soldier.

Bowman, who died in Baghdad on April 12, flew into Hickory Regional Airport Thursday morning on a private jet, his flag-draped casket carried by an Army honor guard to an awaiting hearse.

But until recently, the United States hasn't treated its war dead so well. Before January, they arrived at the nearest commercial airport as cargo among ordinary luggage.

Now, four years into the war, the dead are being flown on chartered jets to airports in or near their hometowns and are being met by honor guards instead of baggage handlers.

Bowman's family -- including his mother, wife and sister -- watched Thursday as an honor guard from the 50th Signal Battalion carried his body from the plane.

The ceremony, his family said, added dignity to his death. 'It was the best way they could honor him,' said Bowman's father-in-law, Bob Navarro.

The change came after the father of a dead soldier in California complained to his congressman, arguing that his 21-year-old son deserved a more dignified return.

More than a year later, Congress passed a law requiring that men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan be flown home on a military or military-contracted aircraft, Pentagon officials said.

Michigan-based Kalitta Charters won the contract and has returned more than 200 bodies since Jan. 1, said Pentagon spokesman Maj. Stewart Upton.

'The past perception was that ... the ultimate sacrifice required something more,' Upton said. 'Flying in to the smaller airports closer to the families, you don't have the hustle and bustle of the larger airport and ... with the honor guard you're able to acknowledge that moment.'

More than 3,300 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the beginning of the Iraq war.

Bowman, who died in Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near the vehicle he was driving, was scheduled to return July 21. He was one of two Catawba Valley soldiers killed in Iraq last week and flown home on chartered jets.

Brian Holden, a 20-year-old soldier from Claremont, died April 9 when a roadside bomb exploded underneath his Humvee. Strong winds Monday kept the chartered plane carrying his body from landing in Hickory, airport officials said, and he was flown to Charlotte.

On Thursday, after the honor guard saluted Bowman, local law enforcement escorted his family to the funeral home in Lenoir, more than 10 miles away.

'The military and local police support was excellent,' Navarro said. 'We were very pleased.'

1st photo: An honor guard from Fort Bragg carries the body of Sgt. Robby Bowman from a chartered jet to a waiting hearse at Hickory Regional AIrport Thursday morning. 

2nd photo: helmet, boots and picture

Obituary from April 21st, 2007

Name of Deceased : Bowman, Sgt. Larry Robert "Robby" 
Date of Birth : Thursday, May 26, 1977 
Place of Birth : Caldwell County, NC 
Date of Death : Friday, April 13, 2007 
Place of Death : Baghdad, Iraq 



Sgt. Larry Robert “Robby” Bowman of the United States Army died April 13, 2007 in Iraq. He was born May 26, 1977 in Caldwell County, NC, the son of the late James Larry Bowman and Barbara Jane Braswell. He is survived by his wife Michelle Navarro Bowman of Tacoma, Wash., his mother Barbara Jane Braswell and her husband Scottie of Granite Falls, his sister Angela Bowman Sigmon and her husband Tim and daughter Emily also of Granite Falls, and extended family. He was preceded in death by his sister Susan Renee Bowman, his paternal grandparents Clyde and Dorothy Bowman, and maternal grandparents Harold and Hazel Hass. 

Other surviving family members include father-in-law Bob Navarro and his wife Ginny; mother-in-law Jo Ann Navarro; and brother-in-law Bob Navarro II and his wife Alicia. 

Robby was stationed at Fort Hood in Austin, Texas, after enlisting in the Army in February 2003. He was stationed at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Wash., in October 2005 and deployed to Iraq in June 2006. He was serving his second tour in Iraq. He was assigned to the 513th Transportation Company, 57th Transportation Battalion, 593rd Corps Support Group as a heavy vehicle driver delivering food, water, fuel and other critical mission supplies. He was the primary armorer for the unit. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and most recently the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. In March he was selected Soldier of the Month for his unit in Kuwait. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant posthumously. 

Robby was on a mission when his vehicle struck a roadside improvised explosive devise in Baghdad. He was just 3 months from returning home. 

The family will receive friends Saturday, April 21, 2007 from 6pm to 8 pm at Dudley Shoals Baptist Church. The funeral services will be Sunday, April 22, 2007 at 3pm at Dudley Shoals Baptist Church with the Rev. Ron Winkler, Dr. Steve Matthews and Rev. George Smith officiating. The burial will follow with full military honors in the church cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to New Life Baptist Church, 2111 Walt Arney Rd., Lenoir, NC 28645. The donations will be used to help offset the cost of transportation and lodging for other service members arriving from Ft. Lewis and Ft. Hood. To make a contribution, contact New Life Baptist Church at 828-728-1473. 

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