Vietnam 1st Battalion
Curt Bowers
H & H Company
COL Curt Bowers (Ret) – Chaplaincy Ministries Director Church of the Nazarene
Chaplain Curt Bowers, U. S. Army, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He entered the chaplaincy in 1961 and retired with the rank of Colonel in 1984 after serving 23 years as a chaplain on active duty .
While serving as an enlisted man in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Germany, Curt Bowers was introduced to Christ and became a Christian through the example and efforts of Nazarene Chaplain H. J. VanVorce. During college and seminary, he pastored a Methodist church for four years. After graduation from Asbury Seminary , he pastored the Cape Ma)’ Church of the Nazarene in New Jersey for one year. During this time, he felt God’s call to minister as a chaplain in the U.S. Army.
His first assignment as a chaplain was Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Subsequent stateside assignments include Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Fort Hamilton, New York; Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Knox, Kentucky; and Fort Stewart, Georgia. His overseas assignments included Germany, Vietnam (with the 101st Airborne Division), Japan, and Korea.
Chaplain Bowers was awarded the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Commendation Medal with First Oak Cluster, Air Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, and Senior Parachutist. Badge.
He was recognized in the 1968 year book of Outstanding Young Men of America. He was inducted into the 327th Infantry, 101st Airborne Hall of Fame in 1998. He authored the book Forward Edge of the Battle Area.
Chaplain Bowers retired from active duty while serving as Installation Chaplain at Fort Stewart to accept the position of Director of Chaplaincy Ministries for the Church of the Nazarene. In this position, he serves as the endorsing agent for the denomination. He currently provides denominational supervision to 750 chaplains. At his retirement ceremony, General Norman Schwartzkopf was his commander and reviewing officer.
He is married to the former Doris Shawver. While serving in Germany as an enlisted soldier, he met Doris (the daughter of LT Col (Ret) and Mrs. William Shawver
They have three children, Sharon Bartlow, a former Air Force nurse who is married to a former Air Force F-16 pilot; William who is pastor of Olympia, Washington Church of the Nazarene; and Stephen who is working for a pharmaceutical company and was a helicopter pilot for the Texas National Guard. They have eight grandchildren.
