{"id":14773,"date":"2015-12-16T08:05:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T18:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retireenews.wordpress.com\/?p=14773"},"modified":"2026-04-29T19:58:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:58:47","slug":"my-back-pages-armories-named-after-hawaii-guard-leaders-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/2015\/12\/16\/my-back-pages-armories-named-after-hawaii-guard-leaders-3\/","title":{"rendered":"My Back Pages: Armories named after Hawai\u2018i Guard leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>Contributing editor<\/em><\/span><em>\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Stephen Lum<\/em><\/span><em>\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>provided this article and the photographs for this Retiree News post.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Wahiawa Armory named after first 487th Field Artillery commander<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/col-francis-bowers\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"734\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"14775\" src=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/col-francis-bowers-1-734x1024.png\" alt=\"Wahiawa Armory, originally built in 1958, was named Col. Francis A.I. \u2018Miki\u2019 Bowers Jr\" class=\"wp-image-14775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/col-francis-bowers-1-734x1024.png 734w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/col-francis-bowers-1-215x300.png 215w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/col-francis-bowers-1-768x1071.png 768w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/col-francis-bowers-1.png 770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 734px) 100vw, 734px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wahiawa-armony-1950s\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"421\" data-id=\"14774\" src=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/wahiawa-armony-1950s-1-1024x421.png\" alt=\"Wahiawa Armory, originally built in 1958, was named Col. Francis A.I. \u2018Miki\u2019 Bowers Jr\" class=\"wp-image-14774\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/wahiawa-armony-1950s-1-1024x421.png 1024w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/wahiawa-armony-1950s-1-300x123.png 300w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/wahiawa-armony-1950s-1-768x315.png 768w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/wahiawa-armony-1950s-1.png 1519w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/bowers-armory-2000s\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"419\" data-id=\"14776\" src=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/bowers-armory-2000s-1-1024x419.png\" alt=\"Wahiawa Armory, originally built in 1958, was named Col. Francis A.I. \u2018Miki\u2019 Bowers Jr\" class=\"wp-image-14776\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/bowers-armory-2000s-1-1024x419.png 1024w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/bowers-armory-2000s-1-300x123.png 300w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/bowers-armory-2000s-1-768x314.png 768w, https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/files\/2015\/11\/bowers-armory-2000s-1.png 1519w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>click on photographs to enlarge<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hawai\u2018i Army National Guard\u2019s Wahiawa Armory, originally built in 1958, was named Col. Francis A.I. \u2018Miki\u2019 Bowers Jr. Armory, in ceremonies held May 4, 2014. Original construction cost $151.6k and housed the Headquarters, 297th Service and Supply Battalion, Headquarters &amp; Headquarters Company, 297th Supply &amp; Services Battalion, 292nd Supply &amp; Services Company, and Troop E (Air), 19th Cavalry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Honolulu-born Bowers, whose military service spanned more than 30 years, graduated from Punahou School in 1945. He spent half a year at Stanford University, and then enlisted in the Army. After serving on active duty for a year and a half, he joined the ROTC program at the University of Hawai\u2018i, Hawai\u2018i, where he earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in economics. He would later earn a master\u2019s in math from the University of Kansas and a doctorate in mathematics education from Ohio State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bowers transferred his commission to the Hawai\u2018i Army National Guard. His Guard career included commands of the 298th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, 227th Engineer Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Battalion, 298th Field Depot, and 29th Infantry Brigade. Bowers was mobilized in 1968, along with his 29th Brigade brethren and went on to serve in Vietnam. His awards included the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Valor and nine Air Medals. He retired from the Guard in 1979.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bowers\u2019 military service and his Ph.D. studies came during breaks from his employment as a mathematics instructor and department chairman at his alma mater, Punahou, to which he devoted some 40 years as an educator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bowers is related to the Hawai\u2018i Guard members Col. Lawrence McCully Judd (299th Regiment Combat Team)&nbsp;commander and seventh Hawaii governor) and Col. Walter Foulke Judd (former Army and Air Guard member, historian and recreator of the ceremonial Royal Guard).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Related:<br><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">http:\/\/wp.me\/s3639O-bowers<br><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">http:\/\/wp.me\/p3639O-3PO<br><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">http:\/\/wp.me\/p3639O-3Q7<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:10px\"><em>The appearance of external hyperlinks did not constitute endorsement by Retiree News, this included the linked websites, information, products, or services contained therein. Retiree News did not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Additionally, some of the sites linked to may limit the number of stories you can access without a paid subscription. All links were provided with the intent of meeting the mission of Retiree News.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contributing editor\u00a0Stephen Lum\u00a0provided this article and the photographs for this Retiree News post. Wahiawa Armory named after first 487th Field Artillery commander click on photographs to enlarge The Hawai\u2018i Army National Guard\u2019s Wahiawa Armory, originally built in 1958, was named Col. Francis A.I. \u2018Miki\u2019 Bowers Jr. Armory, in ceremonies held May 4, 2014. Original construction [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":14776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"56439,48776,5235,62373,43282,49060","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12400,15],"tags":[374,4959,7938],"class_list":["post-14773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1950s","category-history","tag-487th-field-artillery-1-487-fa","tag-hawaii-army-national-guard-hiarng","tag-my-back-pages"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14773"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87224,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14773\/revisions\/87224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}