Lt. Roger C. Bowen

Roger Conant Bowen was born February 19, 1925 in New York City to Scott Howe Bowen (1888-1941) and Maudita Clement (1893-1972). Both his parents were from Ohio and they were married in Rutland, Vt. on June 17, 1918. Roger was the youngest of their three sons which included Scott Jr. (1919-1996) and Frederic (1923-2022). His dad also served and later became the head of Scott Howe Bowen, Inc. in New York City. Roger and his brothers moved around during their childhood living in Scarsdale, NY, Palm Beach, Florida, Whitesboro, NY, Forestport, NY and Elyria, Ohio. His dad bought WIBX, a Utica, NY radio station in March 1931.

Sadly, sometime before 1940 his mom was institutionalized at Marcy State Hospital and Scott Jr., Frederic and Roger went to live with Edward and Janet Jones on Hart's Hill in Whitesboro, NY. Scott Jr. was away at college by then and Frederic and Roger were in High School. Roger's dad eventually remarried to Margaret Potter Somerville on April 26, 1940 in Florida and died shortly thereafter in December 1941. Roger attended schools in Rumford, Connecticut, Morristown, New Jersey and graduated from New Hartford High School near Utica, NY in the early 40s.

Roger registered for the draft in Sherrill, NY on February 19, 1943 he reported being 6' tall and weighing 182 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. He was drafted into the service on May 26, 1943 through Utica, NY with service number 32857753. He reported having completed 1 year of college (Hamilton College) and being single with no dependents. He entered the Army Air Corps in May 1943 and completed training at Hobbs Air Field, NM, Luke Field, Phoenix, Arizona and The Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment (AAFFTD) in Lancaster, California. He was commissioned in September 1944 and issued an officers service number O-786037.

He was home on leave when, on July 21, 1945, he was killed in a car crash returning home from a friends. He is buried in the Newport Cemetery, Newport, NY. (Herkimer County), Section L, Lot 1.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S., Family History Books [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2025.

Descendants of Robert Clements Vol 2; Author: Percival Wood Clement

Dad's FAG - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87815624/scott_howe-bowen: accessed April 25, 2026), memorial page for Scott Howe Bowen (27 Nov 1888–22 Dec 1941), Find a Grave Memorial ID 87815624, citing Newport Cemetery, Newport, Herkimer County, New York, USA; Maintained by DBT (contributor 46622280).

His FAG - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87815238/roger_c-bowen: accessed April 24, 2026), memorial page for Lieut Roger C Bowen (1925–1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 87815238, citing Newport Cemetery, Newport, Herkimer County, New York, USA; Maintained by KLM (contributor 47614115).

"Lt. R.C. Bowen Killed in Crash", Rome Sentinel, Rome, NY, July 23, 1945, pg. 3.

Mom's FAG - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87815478/maud_morrison-bowen: accessed April 25, 2026), memorial page for Maud Morrison Clement Bowen (31 Jul 1893–Sep 1972), Find a Grave Memorial ID 87815478, citing Newport Cemetery, Newport, Herkimer County, New York, USA; Maintained by: Find a Grave.

National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA; Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID: 1263923; Record Group Title: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007; Record Group: 64; Box Number: 05752; Reel: 239

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 16; Assembly District: 04; City: Greenburgh; County: Westchester; Page: 12

New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index

New York Department of Health; Albany, NY; NY State Death Index

Obituary for Frederic Clement Bowen, Observer-Dispatch website accessed on April 26, 2026, at https://www.uticaod.com/obituaries/pnys0163340

"Personals and Local News Items, Concerning Clinton Village and Vicinity", The Clinton Courier, Clinton, NY, pg. 2, April 1, 1937.

"Scott Howe Bowen, Utica Radio Official; W1BX President Once Headed Advertising Concern Here", The New York Times, New York, New York, December 24, 1941, Section Obituaries, Page 17.

"Utica Road Crash Costs Life of Lt. Roger Bowen", The Clinton Courier, Clinton, NY, July 26, 1945, pg. 1.

"Utica Flier Killed in Car Accident", Utica Daily Press, Utica, NY, July 23, 1945, pg. 9.

Year: 1940; Census Place: Whitestown, Oneida, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02702; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 33-112

Supporting Documents