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Show WEARER OF BRONZ STAR AND PURPLE HEART With the 32nd Infantry Division Divi-sion in the Philippines The Bronze Star Medal has been a-warded a-warded to Private First Class Lester F. Bowden, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bowden of Roosevelt, Utah for valor in a recent action. While on a combat patrol with his rifle squad, Bowden and his buddies were caught in a Jap ambush. The lead scout was wounded in the first exchange of fire. The patrol member quickly dispersed and took cover, co-ver, while Bowden, disregarding enemy fire crouched low to the ground and went to the aid of the wounded man. While aiding his comrade, Bowden was wounded himself when a Jap sniper fired a shot through his helmet. He was not seriously hurt and continued to help the wounded scout who was very weak from loss of blood. With great difficulty, Bowden carried his wounded buddy only a short way before he was pinned pin-ned down by another burst of sniper fire. Taking cover behind a fallen tree, the two wounded soldiers rested until the firing ceased. Bowden crawled through the mud and brush and rejoined the patrol. Litter bearers then carried the scout to an emergency emer-gency aid station where he and Bowden received treatment and were evacuated from the front. In addition to the Bronze Star, Pfc. Bowden has also been awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Distinguished Unit Badge. In the Army since November, 1942, he has served in the Southwest South-west Pacific for the past twenty, months. |