Howard C. Bowman

Record status: unconfirmed. Class-roster match confidence is medium. Correct the infobox if you have a source, and note it on talk.

Howard C. Bowman
Personal details
Born	2 April 1923 Danzig, Germany
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Protestant
Awards	Bronze Star Medal
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	0929741
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Rank at Ritchie	Private First Class
Camp Ritchie	Class 16 (6 February – 5 April 1944)
Section	5D
Specialty	IPW German
Team	IPW 154

Awards and honors

Bronze Star Medal

Teammates

Team — IPW 154

These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Howard C. Bowman (born 2 April 1923) was a German-born Ritchie Boy (Class 16) who served as a second lieutenant on IPW Team 154, received the Bronze Star, and later spent a career with the CIA.

Biography

Howard C. Bowman was born on 2 April 1923 in Danzig, Germany (source spelling “Dansk”), and was raised partly in Glasgow while his father served as an American consul. He studied economics at the University of Glasgow with ROTC work, reached the United States via Portugal in early 1942, and continued at Swarthmore College in political science, joining the Army Reserve there.

He enlisted in Washington, D.C., on 8 March 1943 (enlisted ASN 13155219), took medic basic training at Camp Pickett, and entered the Army Specialized Training Program in German at Lehigh. Arriving at Camp Ritchie on 4 February 1944, he graduated Class 16 on 5 April 1944 as an assistant German interrogator. After release in May 1944 he was sent on intelligence assignments in Georgia and Tennessee, then shipped to Liverpool on the SS Mauretania (24–31 August 1944) and joined MIS headquarters at Le Vésinet before duty with the 20th Armored Division.

Returning to Camp Ritchie in December 1944, he was commissioned a second lieutenant on 3 January 1945 (officer ASN 0929741). In April 1945 he was assigned to IPW Team 154 (attached to Fifteenth Army / 20th Armored Division) and was awarded the Bronze Star. That summer the team moved to the Third Army Intelligence Center at Freising.

After graduating from Swarthmore in 1947 he joined the CIA, serving for decades in Bern, Vienna, Athens, and Germany (Munich, Bonn, and Berlin) before retiring in 1984.

Research notes

• Bs
• Source birthplace spelling “Dansk, Germany” (treated as Danzig)
• enlisted ASN 13155219 before officer ASN 0929741
• IPW Team 154 (Apr 1945)
• Bronze Star
• Freising Third Army Intelligence Center

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Class_ASN	13155219
Class_Name	BOWMAN, Howard C.
match_method	pass2_unique_name
row_source	both

Timeline

• Born 2 April 1923 in Gdansk, Germany (now Poland).
• 8 March 1943 — Enlisted in Wash, DC as Pvt (ASN: 13155219).
• 6 December 1944 — S.O. F-83 Team’s attachment to the 106th Infantry Division reported.
• 14 December 1944 — Returned to Camp Ritchie.
• 3 January 1945 — Commissioned as 2nd Lt. (0929741).
• 16 February 1945 — S.O. 37 Team released from attachment to First Army and 106th Inf 17 February 1945 S.O. 38 New IPW Team 154 formed and attached to HQ, First Army (amended to say 106th Infantry Division).
• 2 April 1945 — S.O. 82 2nd Lt. Howard C. Bowman assigned to (new) IPW Team 154.
• 2 April 1945 — S.O. 82 2nd Lt. Howard C. Bowman assigned to IPW Team 154.
• 2 April 1945 — S.O. 82 2nd Lt. Howard C. Bowman assigned to IPW Team 154; team.
• 2007 — Moved to Ballston Lake, NY.
• April 1945 — Awarded Bronze Star.
• Assigned to G-2 at Fort Benning, GA.
• Crossed channel to ETO. Assigned to MIS HQ at Le Vesinet.
• Joined 20th Armored Division (Combat Command B).
• Served with CIA in Berne (8 years), Vienna (7 years), Athens (4 years).
• ____ Assigned to G-2 Section at Fort Benning, GA.
• attached to the 15th Army and duty with the 20th Armored Division.

Sources

• Howard C. Bowman oral history — YouTube
• Howard C. Bowman veteran transcription — New York State Military Museum
• Dan Gross research archive (miscellaneous timeline-adjacent documents; not uploaded): HOWARD C. BOWMAN - contact info.doc (service timeline; private contact details omitted)
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Howard C. Bowman for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 3 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Bowman, Howard C. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 3 source files: HOWARD C. BOWMAN.doc, HOWARD C. BOWMAN (2021).doc, HOWARD C. BOWMAN.doc)