Lieutenant Colonel Walter Russell Bowie was the youngest son of a renowned Episcopal theologian. He was born in Richmond, VA, and raised in New York City. He attended Solebury School in Pennsylvania from which he matriculated to Harvard University in 1938. Commissioned in the Coast Artillery Corps via Harvard’s ROTC program in 1942, he served proudly and faithfully as an officer of the United States Army for more than twenty-five years. Lieutenant Colonel Bowie pursued a distinguished career as an air defender and military intelligence officer. Initially assigned to the 206th Coast Artillery Anti-Aircraft Regiment supporting the 7th Infantry Division in the Aleutians, he spent 1943 and the initial months of 1944 in Attu and Kiska protecting the Aleutians and Alaska from further Japanese air attack. In March 1944 upon the 206th Regiment’s redeployment to the Zone of the Interior (CONUS) then Major Bowie joined a training command at Ft Benning until his release from active duty in late 1945. After the war, he served with the nascent CIA and on the National Security Council staff until leaving government service and moving to Omaha in 1947 where he became a community leader while pursuing a successful insurance career. Retaining a reserve commission, Lieutenant Colonel Bowie served primarily with a Military Intelligence Detachment supporting the 5th Army Headquarters from which he retired in 1967. His family is honored and proud to establish this scholarship honoring his distinguished service to both his community and the Nation.
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