Community Corner

Every Day is Veterans Day for One Medfield Family

The Bowling family asks the public to give back to their fullest capability.

Every day is Veterans Day for the Bowling family of Medfield. 

A flag greets visitors at the mailbox and the door of their home on Fieldstone Drive, the interior decor has a military theme, and family photos are centered around a family of West Point Graduates: Jerry Bowling (1979) and sons Andrew (2006) and Alex (2009). There are also several wedding photos of daughter Emily (Andrew's twin) when she married a 2007 West Point graduate, Jeff Cox, at a ceremony at West Point. 

Jerry and Kathy Bowling recently sat down with Patch to talk about what Veterans' Day means to their family. 

As a child, Jerry Bowling, now a retired Lieutenant Colonel, was a big fan of military history. 

"I thought it would be a phenomenal experience to be in the military and I liked the aspect of serving my country," Jerry said. 

He graduated from West Point in 1979 and served in the 25th Infantry in Hawaii during a "relative time of peace" after Viet Nam. He traveled to Korea, the Philippines, New Zealand and others.

"Working with other countries' militaries was fascinating," he said. 

Around the same time, Kathy Bowling was a young nurse looking for an adventure. 

"I got it and I'm still getting it today; we're still having our adventure," she said. 

She thought she might work as a nurse on a cruise ship or in the oil fields of Saudi Arabia when a friend mentioned the military.

Her father had been in the Korean Conflict so she knew about military life and the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. 

"Personally and professionally, it was amazing," she said.

Kathy and Jerry met while stationed in Hawaii.

Kathy worked as a labor and delivery nurse on the military base where she treated military dependents, female soldiers (who were enlisting in larger numbers), Samoan women, and soldiers and sailors who were stationed around the world "because we served the American Trusts in the Pacific."

They were married six months later because the military was going to separate them. Their twins, Andrew and Emily, were born in 1983 and soon after Kathy left active duty and became a reservist. 

Their adventure took them to Georgia, Maryland and New York. When the children were young, Jerry left active duty and became a reservist. Then their third child, Alex, was born. 

The young family moved back to Boston to be close to extended family. In 1991, both Kathy and Jerry were mobilized for the first Gulf War.

"The children had seen both of us in combat boots for reservist duty so they knew we were in the military," Kathy said.

So, with three young children (two in first grade and one in preschool) at home, Kathy left for six weeks to serve as a Major in the Army Nurse Corps in Germany. Soon after her arrival, the obstetrics unit was converted into a burn unit to treat soldiers including many whose upper bodies were burned. Kathy says that was the highlight of her military career (as well as the first time she treated a male patient since nursing school). 

When Kathy got home after six weeks, Jerry was deployed for four months. He was working in a Terminal Transportation Unit in Boston mobilized to Houston, Texas, where he unloaded returning military equipment from ships and onto trucks and railroad cars for final delivery. 

During his 28 years in the service, Jerry said the most rewarding part was working with young soldiers, taking care of them, training them for war.  

"As a platoon leader, you're in charge of 35 people, they're your responsibility. They're young Americans and you're teaching them everything, even balancing a checkbook," Jerry said. 

Back at home, the family decided they could not have two parents deployed at the same time and Kathy retired as a reservist. 

Today, Kathy is a labor and delivery nurse at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Jerry is a retired Lieutenant Colonel with 28 years in the active reserves and today serves as state coordinator for Massachusetts applicants to West Point Academy. 

It is no surprise that the three Bowling children have followed in their parents' military footsteps in their own ways. 

Andrew, who graduated from Medfield High School in 2002, graduated from West Point in 2006 and served six years on active duty as a Field Artillery Officer. He was deployed to Iraq during the Surge where he saw combat and helped rebuild communities. He also served one year in Afghanistan.

"He loved his service but decided not to make the military a career," said Kathy, adding he is now pursuing an MBA at Indiana University.

His twin sister, Emily (MHS '02), married a West Point graduate, Jeff Cox, that she met at a tailgate party when visiting her brothers on campus. Cox is a Captain in the Army Corps of Engineers and recently returned from his third deployment (during which times Emily comes home to Medfield). 

"They've been married 4.5 years and he's been gone two of them and she's moved four times," Kathy said. 

The youngest Bowling, Alex (MHS '05), was deployed to Iraq "at the very end" of the war, his parents said, "working with the Kurds on the Turkish/Iranian border." 

"He's an Army ranger like his father," said Kathy. "Right now, he loves the Army; we think he might stay in." 

In addition to supporting their own children who are in the military, "There aren't many weeks that go by that we don't send a box to somebody in the world," Kathy said.

Currently, they are collecting Halloween candy that will be sent to soldiers overseas. She said the soldiers look forward to receiving boxes that they then share with each other (many soldiers don't have anyone at home to send packages to them). 

"Everybody gives back in their own way and this is what we've decided we can do," Kathy said. 

The Bowlings say they will be thanked for their service during this time of year but it is important to remember soldiers every day.

"Afghanistan is still a very, very dangerous place and I think sometimes, with the news, there's nothing mentioned...People don't realize we're at war," Jerry said. 

"Veterans' Day is a nice opportunity to thank a vet especially those who served in World War II, and Korea, and went to Viet Nam -- the people who had to actively exercise their duty and fight for our country," Jerry said. 

He also says that people should give back to their fullest ability.

"This is the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination and people should be asking, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," Jerry said, quoting President Kennedy. "I know it's been said a million times but we live in a pretty special place and it would be wonderful if everyone gave back to their capability." 

Currently, the Bowlings are collecting items to be sent to the troops, and they invite the public to drop off items at 6 Fieldstone Drive or to contact them at "oldtown1926@gmail.com" for more information.

Medfield Patch thanks the Bowling family for their service and wishes all veterans a Happy Veterans' Day. 


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