John Webster Bowman, Jr (1944-2025)

Our classmate John Bowman passed away on Friday, August 22, 2025 in Laguna Nigel CA. John suffered from Alzheimer’s for several years and has been in a state of slow but steady decline.

John’s wish was to be buried at Arlington where he will have the full military honors that he so deserves. When details are available, we will post them on this page.

At the 50th, L-R: Griff Sexton '65, Mike Tooke, John Bowman, Mac McMorris (who sent the photo)

Classmates Walt Stockman and Mike Tooke prepared this obituary, with assistance from Griff Sexton '65, Bow's cousin.

John Webster Bowman (known mostly as “Bows”) died August 22, 2025 after battling Alzheimer’s for years. He was a warm, intelligent, colorful guy. He grew up in a Marine family, graduated from Choate and was a member of the class of 1966 at Princeton. Bows majored in history, belonged to Cottage, and had eleven roommates in Patton Hall for three years (Beaty, Cartwright, Farr, Keeble, Henderson, Larkin, McMorris, Stockman, Tooke, Trees and Walker).

Colorful was certainly a description for Bows. As a child of a military family, he was conservative by nature, and was frequently tempted by free-riding skate boards riding by Patton to “take them out.”

John’s family was both serious and colorful, with many family members in the Washington, DC area. His father, Colonel Bowman, was the senior communications officer in the Marine Corps. His uncle, Smith Hempstone, also a Marine captain, was for many years a senior editor of the Washington Star and formerly a U.S. Ambassador to Kenya.

From this background, Bows was both bright and also very athletic. At Choate, he was the New England 185-pound wresting champion his senior year and was the starting tackle on the football team. Bows took up lacrosse as a freshman at Princeton and played with vigor but limited ability. He was better versed at football and played for three seasons.

Bows was in NROTC at Princeton. Following his father’s legacy, he joined the Marines Corps upon graduation, along with three of his roommates. Many of them went into the air wing, especially helicopters. I remember the day I left our house in Pensacola to go qualify for my first carrier landings, a matter of some uncertainly. And Bows, my roommate, giving me the traditional best wishes by asking me if he could have my car and video if I did not come back. Such memories and they go on and on. He got his wings in 1967 and then served several decorated tours in Vietnam. He started his tour of duty in Vietnam in 1969 as a helicopter pilot flying the CH34, which was a decades-old war horse which Bows flew with vigor. He was one of the last Marines to leave Vietnam in the 70s, when he was ordered to destroy the secret equipment at the large airbase north of Saigon and then fly out to the retreating American fleet. Bows and his co-pilot famously ditched the Huey Cobra in the South China sea because they ran out of fuel while the ships were over run by incoming Vietnamese escaping from the capital. [See this 2002 story, The Heroes Among Us, from the World Net Daily and this Marine Corps publication (p. 201 and photo on p 203.]

After his Vietnam tours, Bows was stationed at Camp Pendleton as part of a helicopter squadron and at HMO 1 in Virginia with both flying and duties as the intelligence officer. He retired from the Marine Corps after 25 years. Bows post-Marine career was in the Washington, DC area, with his final assignment as being the civilian manager of the Pentagon, including the Nine-Eleven crash and its aftermath.

John was devoted to his family and friends and always there to help in times of need. In later life, any telephone conversation with him invariably included him inquiring “What can I do for you?”

John was predeceased by his sister Ellen, brother Bill, class of ’73, and cousin Tony Thompson, class of ‘63. He is survived by his wife Grace and their two boys, Marshall and Elliot, and their wives and children, and by a host of cousins including Griff Sexton, class of 1965. He had a vast array of family in the Washington, DC area, and many, many of us called him a friend.

Nassau Herald

25th Reunion Essay

Still on active duty with the Marines. For the first time I feel frustrated, however. While half of the Marine Corps is in Southwest Asia facing Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, I am at Quantico, Virginia as an air-facility commanding officer. I feel like it is ladies’ choice

at the high school prom, and I am the only guy who has not been asked to dance.

Lots of challenges and great times over the years. Vietnam was an experience (1968, 1969, and then back in 1975). In the late ’70s I helped in developing improved helicopter tactics to include terrain flying, night-vision goggle operations and air-combat maneuvering.

In the early ’80s I worked to acquire an improved Marine Corps attack helicopter: the AH-IW Super Cobra, which is now in the field in Saudi Arabia. Participated as an operator/plaimer for the Southwest Asian contingencies and spent a lot of time in the

California and Arizona deserts during the ’80s. I was the executive officer at Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton, California for over two years and am now in my third year as commanding officer at Quantico’s air facility.

What has made life fun and the challenges always manageable over the years has been the continuous support of family and friends. No place has been a richer source of camaraderie and sustained friendship than Princeton. There was a bunch of family there too, of course. Looking forward to the 25th. Need some counseling on my second career!

50th Reunion Profile

John W. Bowman, Jr.

6456 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101-2212; 703-893-6483;

Spouse: Grace Barlow Bowman

Stepchildren: Marshall B. Schneider; Elliott B. Schneider

Graduate school: one-year postgrad, systems management, University of Southern California, 1988; naval aviator, Navy Flight School, 1968; air intelligence officer, USAF Air Intelligence School, 1970; USMC Command and Staff College, 1982; USMC Amphibious Warfare School, 1973; USMC Basic School, 1967

Military: Lt.Col., US Marine Corps, 1966-91; Meritorious Service Medals, Air Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, unit citations, service and expeditionary medals Community service: volunteer at Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum; active in American Legion, Post 270 in McLean, Va.; participated in Wounded Warrior Mentor Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.

Activities: travel, aviation and defense issues, military history

Princeton roommates: Ed Keeble, Walt Stockman, Mike Tooke, Jake Cartwright, Terry Beaty, Bart Farr, Jay Trees, Mac McMorris, Nelson Henderson, Jim Walker, Frank Larkin (Patton Palace)

Memorable professors: Lt. Col. A.B. Cook, NROTC unit professor; Arthur S. Link (history)

Best courses: Too many to count!

Senior thesis: The Immigration Law of 1924 and Japanese Excluson

* * *

I spent over 25 years as an officer and aviator in the Marines, made one tour of Vietnam (1968-69). Returned again in 1975 for the fall and evacuation of Saigon and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I retired from the Marine Corps in 1991 and became a NASA contractor. I worked several years at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., as head of the transportation branch for Ogden Logistics Services (OLS). From 1996 to 2008 I was at the Pentagon as a logistics contractor providing support the

Department of the Army and various Department of Defense offices. I have a wonderful wife, Grace, two magnificent step-

sons, two lovely daughter-sin-law, and three sweet grand-children. Life is good!

Classmate Tributes and Memories

Jake Cartwright:

Before Princeton, Bows and I spent three years together at Choate. He was an all around good guy, and when we learned that both of us had been accepted at Princeton, we decided to room together. Our room was at 3 N. Dod and our other roommates were Mike Tooke and Ed Keeble. Being from a military family and earning a Naval ROTC scholarship, Bows immediately started trying to get the three of us “squared away”, without much success. Our only hitch that year was that Bows had a record of the soundtrack from the movie Hatari, and the instrumental “Baby Elephant Walk” was his favorite tune. It played continuously, far too continuously for Mike, Keeble-Ed and me.

Sophomore year we moved with eight others (Larkin, Farr, McMorris, Stockman, Beaty, Walker, Henderson and Trees) into the sixth entry of Patton and there we stayed for the duration. Bows was a central character of the group, a kind, funny, generous guy who always seemed to be in a good mood and always willing to help anyone who needed it. Senior year with Vietnam escalating and all of us with a draft status of 1A, we began to wonder what to do next. Not Bows, however, he would graduate from Princeton as a 2/Lt in the United States Marine Corps and eventually head to Pensacola, FL to begin Navy flight school. Perhaps it was the example he set, perhaps it was his enthusiasm for serving and being a Marine, whatever it was prompted four of us to sign up for Marine Corps Officer Candidate School, with Walt Stockman, Ed Keeble and I continuing on to become Naval Aviators and Marine Corps pilots. Mac McMorris, the fourth man, was hurt just prior to OCS and the Marine Corps declared him 4F.

Bows was ahead of us in flight school but for a time we were all together in Pensacola, and it seemed like old times. We were not always thinking about what was ahead. Bows was first to earn his Navy wings and go to a squadron. Because the Marines were always short on helicopter pilots, Bows went to Vietnam before any of us. Flying a Marine helicopter in Vietnam was a continually dangerous and challenging job and Bows did it well and courageously. Several years later, he went to Vietnam for a second combat tour, this time flying the Bell AH-1 Cobra, eventually participating in the evacuation of Saigon.

Brave, patriotic, a true Marine, a man who enjoyed life and lived it well all described Bows. Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s is a battle that eventually can never be won. I, and his many friends, will miss him.

Kit Mill:

Junior year Patton Palace was where Bows lived with a handful of reprobates. They were the perfect "competitor" for our group of 24 at Laughlin 5.

One spring day, Bedell had a sip or two, and we turned him into an American Indian, Ojibwe, I believe. A night or two before we had given him a Mohawk haircut and with the stripes of toothpaste (white) and shoe polish (black), we headed for Patton Palace. When we got there, Bedell, in his growlers, let out a war hoop and out came their "Chief", Bows, wrapped only in a towel. Bows was always up for anything/everything. Bows and Bob wrestled around for a while, grunting, laughing. We were in hysterics; they ended up hugging each other.

John Bowman was a man that we couldn't wait to be around. I didn't get to spend enough time with him. He always had a smile on his face. He was a kind man. He was a funny man. The Patton Palace characters (Farr, Cartwright, Tooke, Bows) would often come out to CA where a handful of the old Laughlin 5 classmates lived (Larsen, Mueller, Van Horne, Mill). One of those visits was to Aptos Seascape, a spa south of San Francisco. He and I were cleaning up the kitchen late one night. Bows was sweeping the floor. He stopped and put his arm around my shoulder and he said: "Kit, weez a happy people."

The warmest of men. And, oh yeah, that wonderful, slight lisp in his voice. I'll hear it forever, Bows.

Sim Savage:

My memory of John Bowman goes all of the way back to the summer of 1962 when we met at a party held in Bethesda, Maryland, for all entering Princeton freshmen. He lived fairly nearby and it turned out we had a lot of mutual friends from different prep school and various social gatherings. Just as an aside, that was the same party where I met Tommy Hanks, Frank Nuessle, and the plethora of guys from the Landon School that had been a major competitor when I went to another school from Northern Virginia that was in the same small league as Landon.

John(Bwana as I had begun to call him) and I reunited at Princeton and I saw a good bit of him during the first semester, at the conclusion of which I had not met the minimum academic requirements and was asked to leave the campus. However, we stayed in contact with one another until I was re-admitted and returned to PU in the Fall of 1964. There is little to no doubt in my mind that Bwana was a principal source of support during Bicker in the Spring of 1966 when I was invited to become a member with John at The University Cottage Club. We spent a lot of time together at club functions and he had also become a friend and confidant of my fiancé, Patty (Sam to almost everyone at Princeton - long story), and John, along with Randy Brundage, were the only 2 Princetonians to attend our family wedding in late August of 1966. It’s a sure thing he (and Randy) will be in our thoughts as we celebrate our 59th anniversary tomorrow !!!

While John graduated and undertook his responsibilities with the Marines, we managed to stay in touch with one another during the next few years and in the summer of 1972(I think) he joined Sam and me on a trip to Montana where we spent 2 weeks on horseback in The Bob Marshall Wilderness. To be honest, seeing John in front of me astride a large stallion with a typical Bwana safari hat for the better part of two weeks is one of the most humorous and enduring memories from that part of my life. It was just the 3 of us plus a guide and a cook and we had a wonderful time though Sam was the only one who had riding experience, but Bwana and I managed to survive, almost! The water in the streams and lakes was so clear that it was difficult to tell the difference between water that was 6 inches deep from water 6 feet or more deep. At one point, we dismounted along Big Salmon Lake and I put my fly rod together and fairly quickly hooked, landed and released some 14” - 16” cutthroat trout. Then I hooked a larger one that took flight into the clean branches of a submerged tree about 50 feet off the bank and hung me up by wrapping my line around several branches. The Bwana wasted nary a minute shedding his clothes - ALL of them - and swimming in the ice cold water out to the tree, took a deep breath and went under water to unwrap the tangled line and giving me a chance to land the fish! Seeing the Bwana in his naked glory, swimming out to clear my line in water almost cold enough to ice over, was a scene that will remain with me forever!

During our two weeks in the Bob with Bwana, there were other instances that were fun, scary, interesting, and made all the more wonderful because we were sharing it with the one and only Bwana Bowman. It was truly one of the fondest and most memorable experiences of my life. Those of us fortunate to remain alert, healthy, and engaged with life likely spend increasing amounts of time thinking about the most meaningful and memorable events of our lives. For some it can be a relationship with a parent, spouse, child, or grandchild. It might be an experience involving whatever type of work we pursued, but I’d wager that for many of us, our thoughts often run to those who were close friends and who added something intangible to our lives that brought us joy and comfort with their presence. I know that is true for me and John was/is at the very top of the list in so many ways. He was energetic, enthusiastic, interesting and interested, always had your back and was the living embodiment of what you’d want a friend to be. Bwana, Sam and I will miss you and hope your soul spends eternity in the peace it so well deserves, and we will always value our good fortune with the times we were able to spend with you.

Mac McMorris:

We were roommates in Patton Hall for three years -12 of us. Our senior year Mike Tooke and I shared a 3 room suite with John.

He was truly a dedicated Marine. When my son played in a soccer tournament in Washington in about 1997, John gave us a three hour tour of military places, including driving through Arlington cemetery since he had a special pass for his car. Telling us how honored he will be to buried there.

I assume you know of his role as a Cobra helicopter pilot in the evacuation of Saigon. You can read about this by going to his name and USMC on the Internet. It is an amazing story!

In his later years as a Marine he was on a base in California in charge of many pilots and fighter planes. He told me I could bring our young son and daughter to meet him, and they could go on multiple flights! We never did this.

When he retired from the USMC, he looked for a job in the private sector. He was very annoyed to be interviewed by young men who asked about his marketing skills. He thought this to be irrelevant given his combat experience and later command of so many.

I truly hope many classmates will go to his burial!

At the 50th, L-R: Griff Sexton '65, Mike Tooke, John Bowman, Mac McMorris (who sent the photo)

Terry Beaty

Since I first met Bows at Choate in 1958, we have been close friends and shared many of the passages of life together. He has been a wonderful friend, a patriot and extended family (both ways). He was a warm, intelligent guy, a loyal friend and a proud Princetonian. There are so many memories….We will be with you at Arlington.

We were fellow history majors. He wrote almost all his history on the theme of “the Hill people vs the Valley people.” He just changed the names!

He had a very close family and strong traditions. In addition to “the Wily Colonel (known for his wicked “elixirs” at New Years), his grandfather Hempstone was one of the last Admirals in charge of the China Station before WWII.

Smith Hempstone was the Ambassador to Kenya and wrote a great book, “Rogue Ambassador,” about his struggles with President Moi and the U S State Dept. Coming of Age in the family for males involved going on Safari with Smith. The

Masai guides gave Bows the nickname “Bwana Sana Sala Piga” which translates to Hundred Shot Bwana. Not a tribute to John’s sharpshooting.

Bows was truly rooted in the lore of the Corps. I will always remember his shining his boots, night after night, at Patton Palace and at Choate before then.

I heard the story of his ditching many times. He said he joined the South China Sea Swimming Club and lost the last helicopter in Vietnam. They had to court-martial him or give him a medal. He got the medal. He was lucky he didn’t drown when his hatch cover jammed.

He was pissed that he had to rescue the same correspondents from the roof of the embassy in Phnom Phen a few months after he had rescued them from the Embassy roof in Saigon.

It was sad that he had to retire from the Corps. He never found another niche that he was passionate about. When the terrorists crashed into the Pentagon on 9-11, Bows had a crew doing construction on another side of the building. I don’t think he was in the building when the plane hit, but his crew were an important part of the cleanup team afterwards.

At Choate, he was a star athlete. He played pulling guard in our single wing offense and tackle on defense. Choate was undefeated senior year. He was a great wrestler and threw the shotput. When he took up lacrosse at Princeton, he would run around with his stick in the air above his head. We called him “the shark!”

If you have photos or memories that you wish to share, please send them to the '66 Memorial Team (66_MemorialTeam@tiger1966.org). We will add them to this page.