Alvin Brownlow Clawson
Navy
Seaman 1st Class, USS Bowers (DE-637)
WW2
Born 9/15/1917, Butler, TN (Wife Ora Guy Clawson)
Deceased 4/16/1945 MIA/BNR. Memorial listing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
On April 3, 1945, the destroyer escort USS Bowers was assigned to a radar picket station about 10 miles north of Kerama
Retto to provide the other ships around Okinawa with an early warning of approaching air attacks. That day, a single torpedo bomber attacked the Bowers but was shot down before any damage was done. The Bowers was then assigned to anti-submarine screen duty 6 miles north of Ie Shima. At dawn on 4/16/1945 the Bowers show down 1 attacking Japanese plane and then at 0930 two more planes came iin, flying low and fat. The Boers maneuvered radically to avoid the planes as they split to attack the destroyer. The first came in dead ahead, but the Bowers’ gun brought it down. The second passed over the ship as her port gun came to bear. Despite the heavy gunfire, the kamikaze regained altitude, turned and came in from a 45
degree angle forward. It crashed into the warship flying bridge, spraying high octane gasoline over the bridge and pilot
house. The pane’s bomb penetrated the pilot house and continued down through the ship for 20 feet before it exploded
and sprayed the deck with fragments. Fire fighting parties brought the flames under control in about 45 minutes, but 37
men were killed, 11 reported missing to include SFC Clawson. Many of the 56 wounded died later.
Seaman 1st Class, USS Bowers (DE-637)
WW2
Born 9/15/1917, Butler, TN (Wife Ora Guy Clawson)
Deceased 4/16/1945 MIA/BNR. Memorial listing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
On April 3, 1945, the destroyer escort USS Bowers was assigned to a radar picket station about 10 miles north of Kerama
Retto to provide the other ships around Okinawa with an early warning of approaching air attacks. That day, a single torpedo bomber attacked the Bowers but was shot down before any damage was done. The Bowers was then assigned to anti-submarine screen duty 6 miles north of Ie Shima. At dawn on 4/16/1945 the Bowers show down 1 attacking Japanese plane and then at 0930 two more planes came iin, flying low and fat. The Boers maneuvered radically to avoid the planes as they split to attack the destroyer. The first came in dead ahead, but the Bowers’ gun brought it down. The second passed over the ship as her port gun came to bear. Despite the heavy gunfire, the kamikaze regained altitude, turned and came in from a 45
degree angle forward. It crashed into the warship flying bridge, spraying high octane gasoline over the bridge and pilot
house. The pane’s bomb penetrated the pilot house and continued down through the ship for 20 feet before it exploded
and sprayed the deck with fragments. Fire fighting parties brought the flames under control in about 45 minutes, but 37
men were killed, 11 reported missing to include SFC Clawson. Many of the 56 wounded died later.