MG (Ret) Emmett Wadsworth Bowers

MG (Ret) Emmett Wadsworth Bowers U.S. Army, 89, of Albany, Georgia, died November 29, 2015. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 on Thursday at Porterfield United Methodist Church in Albany with the Reverend Nancy J. Scarbrough and Dr. Roy Alexander Tracy officiating. General Bowers will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. He was born on July 19, 1926, in Decatur, Georgia, to the late Ross and Creola Bowers. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Sarah Hammack Bowers, of Albany, sons COL (Ret) George E. Bowers USAR (Susan) of Chesapeake, Virginia; Emmett W. Bowers, Jr. (Pendy) of Tifton; Lt Col (Ret) Joseph H. Bowers USAF (Cynthia) of Niceville, Florida; grandchildren Dr. Emmett W. Bowers III (Ashley) of Valdosta; George E. Bowers, Jr. (Dena) of St. Simons Island; Kate Bowers Berryman (Jay) of Watkinsville; Sarah Elizabeth Sunderman (Tim) of Chesapeake, Virginia; Ross Thomas Bowers of Miramar, Florida, Rachel Gerard Bowers of Washington, D.C., Margaret Leigh Bowers and Scott Bradford Bowers of Niceville, Florida; great-grandchildren Elizabeth Tift Bowers, Emma Wright Bowers, Henry Hammack Bowers, James Bowers Berryman, William Fairbanks Berryman, Kinnick Michael Sunderman, Kennedy Elizabeth Sunderman; sister Betty Bowers Gordon of Grovetown. He was preceded in death by grandson Will Hammack Bowers, brother Ross Lee Bowers, Jr., and sister Lillian Bowers Skillern. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps where he was honorably discharged after serving three years. He then attended Mercer University where he was an ROTC honor graduate and later earned his MBA from the University of Alabama. During the early years of his career, he served in the Artillery Corps and was wounded in action in Korea in 1952. He served in Europe, first as budget and accounting chief, next as an instructor of financial management, and then as an analysis and statistics chief. After completing the Quartermaster officer advanced course at Fort Lee, Virginia, he remained as a finance and accounting instructor before attending the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Following a second tour in Europe, he was assigned as a staff officer in the Office of Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Washington, D.C. After a year serving as a battalion commander in Vietnam, he became executive officer in the Office of the Comptroller, Defense Supply Agency. General Bowers attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair in Washington and was then assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. In June, 1973, he assumed command of the 593rd Support Group, Fort Lewis, Washington, and in April, 1974, was promoted to Brigadier General. He then was Commander of Department of Army Field Activity, U.S. Army Troop Support Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia. He was promoted to Major General January, 1977. Following his promotion, he became the Commander of Department of Defense Field Activity under Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Personnel Support Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His last active assignment was Deputy Director, Defense Logistics Agency, Cameron Station, Alexandria, Virginia. General Bowers was awarded the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, American Campaign Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal, Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Defense Superior Service Medal. Following his retirement in 1982, he was active in the community through Meals on Wheels, Kiwanis, Porterfield United Methodist Church Alpha Class, and was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to the State Ethics Commission. Until his death, he was an associate broker at Murray Webb & Associates. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the Methodist Home for Children and Youth, P.O. 2525, Macon, GA, 31203 or www.themethodisthome.org.

MG (Ret) Emmett Wadsworth Bowers

July 19, 1926 - November 29, 2015