This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Bowman, Charles Edward, TC1.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Detroit, MI
Last Address 825 Drexel St Detroit, MI (Wife ~ Florence Bowman)
Casualty Date Jul 30, 1945
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Drowned, Suffocated
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Manila American Cemetery - Taguig City, Philippines
Wall/Plot Coordinates Tablets of the Missing (cenotaph)
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed. Of the 1,196 aboard, about 900 made it into the water in the twelve minutes before she sank. Few life rafts were released. Most survivors wore the standard kapok life jacket. Due to her top secret mission, she was not reported missing. Shark attacks began with sunrise of the first day, and continued for five days until the men were finally spotted in the water and rescued. Only 316 men survived.
Western Caroline Islands Operation/Battle of Peleliu
From Month/Year
September / 1944
To Month/Year
October / 1944
Description The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June–November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
Major General William Rupertus, USMC—commander of 1st Marine Division—predicted the island would be secured within four days. However, due to Japan's well-crafted fortifications and stiff resistance, the battle lasted over two months. In the United States, it was a controversial battle because of the island's questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate, which exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".
