Timothy L. Bowles – October 2010 Shipment
Honoree
Tucson Citizen
Bowles, an Air Force staff sergeant, was sent to Afghanistan in
November, his father said. It was his first tour in a war zone. He was
a fire engine mechanic, the senior Bowles said. “He volunteered to go
on that mission that day to take the place of a comrade who was sick. I
just learned that today (Monday),” Bowles and four other airmen were
killed by a roadside bomb in Eastern Afghanistan, according to an Air
Force release and an article Monday in The New York Times.
Bowles was assigned to the 755th Air Expeditionary Group’s Nangarhar
Provincial Reconstruction Team in Jalalabad, his father said. His home
base was Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage, Alaska.
The senior Bowles said his son worked at the Tucson Medical Center
cafeteria while taking classes at Pima Community College for a year
after his 2002 graduation from Tucson High. “He never said what he was
studying.”
When Timothy enlisted in the Air Force, Bowles said he was “stunned” but
“I was all for it.” He said Louis confided in his mother, Lisa that he
was unhappy at times growing up, as his father left for one deployment
after another. He didn’t understand his father’s military career was
what took him away from home. “He didn’t comprehend why I had to leave.
He thought, ‘Dad was mad at us,’” he said. The elder Bowles served in
the first Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, he said.
In
addition to his parents, who now live in Glorietta, N.M., he is survived
by his older sister, Heather Ketchmark, who lives at Hunter Army
Airfield in Georgia.
The Associated Press
 As
a youngster growing up on base, Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles took a
special interest in elderly veterans who attended chapel services on
Sundays. He made a point of paying attention to them and assisting them
if they needed help, said his father, Air Force retiree Louis Bowles. “
He was loving and loyal, a son you could trust.”
“That was Tim,” Air Force retiree Louis Bowles said of his son’s offer
to fill in for someone. “He was always unselfish, wanting to help people
any way he could.”
Bowles graduated from Tucson High School in 2002 and attended Pima
Community College before joining the Air Force.
“Raised in a military family, he knew the cost of freedom. He did not
falter and he did not fail,” said Col. Richard Walberg.
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE,
Alaska (AFNS) -- Elmendorf Air Force Base officials will hold a memorial
service this week to honor an NCO killed at 12:30 a.m. March 15
supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Eastern Afghanistan.
Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Lee said
Bowles was in an armored Humvee with three Army soldiers when the
vehicle rolled over a pressure-sensitive bomb. The two servicemen in
front, including Bowles, died instantly, and the two in the back died
later, he said.
http://afghanistan.pigstye.net/images/articles/TimothyL.Bowles_2_original.jpgHe
deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2008, and was
scheduled to be deployed for nine months. He was assigned to the 755th
Air Expeditionary Group's Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team in
Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Sergeant Bowles was a fire truck mechanic assigned to the 3rd Logistics
Readiness Squadron. He arrived to Elmendorf AFB in July 2007 and was
assigned to the Vehicle Management Flight.
Sergeant Bowles was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and grew up on Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base, Ariz., where his father was stationed. He graduated from
Tucson High School in 2002.
"The 3rd Wing and all of Team Elmendorf feel the pain of losing Sergeant
Bowles," said Col. Richard Walberg, the 3rd Wing vice commander. "He was
always ready to go beyond what was merely expected of him. In fact, on
Sunday he filled in for a comrade who was not feeling well in
Afghanistan. He was a living embodiment of our Air Force core values of
integrity, service before self and excellence. Raised in a military
family, he knew the cost of freedom. He did not falter and he did not
fail. Our prayers are with Tim's family, friends and professional
colleagues."
Links
http://militarytimes.com/valor/air-force-staff-sgt-timothy-l-bowles/3995775/
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34868316
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