PSU Magazine Spring 2006

wrld War 11 veterans returned home LO a society that rallied around the success of the war. Today, young veterans must come to terms with their war and service experiences without the same sense of support. Where big crowds of veterans once filled classrooms in Vanport, creating their own culture, todays veterans tend to feel more isolated from fellow students as well as from society. Wilson Bowlby, 27, comes from a li.ne of soldiers stretching as far back as the Oregon Trail. "ln every generation of the Bowlby family there's been someone in the military," he says. "So far, l'm the only one in mine. " Bowlby traveled over half the world with the U.S. Air Force, then moved to Portland a few years ago from Fon Walton Beach, Florida, to be near his father, Kenneth-who retired from the Air Force-and attend Portland State. This June Bowlby receives a degree in business marketing wi.th support from the Gl Bill. He has yet to settle down wi.th a family of his own, but he definitely plans on it. Eventually he plans on going for an MBA. B owlby enjoys travel, he likes LC work out at a local gym, but above all, he's passionate about changing the per– ception that mi litary veterans have no options once they get out of the ser– vice. 'Tve been pan of the Veteran's Administration work-study program since l started college and it's provided me , as a full-time college student, so many opportunities," he says. Bowlby was raised a "military brat," as he puts it. His parents, Kenneth and Before enrolling at PSU, Wilson Bowlby (right) received an award at the U.S. Strategic Air Command in Nebraska. As a student he has benefitted from the GI Bill and VA work study. Min Hui, met and married in Korea in the early 1970s. Bowlby had already lived in Germany, Korea, ew Mexico, California, and Washington stale before his senior year in high school. Enlisting at age 19, he went first to Japan, where he spent three years working as a satellite radio operator, learning the technical side of commu– nications. He also spent all his free Lime traveling through the countryside, climbing Mount Fuji, and exploring Japanese food, art, and culture. While in Japan , Bowlby extended his tour for another year after his original two were up . ext Bowlby was sent Lo a base in the U.S. Strategic Air Command in Nebraska. lt was a more prestigious opportunity, involving a high-profi.le assignment. lt was also tougher techni– cal work in a freezing, featureless, and isolated location. The young airman never saw com– bat, but he certainly prepared for it. On Sept. 11 , 2001, Bowlby got to meet President George W Bush, who stayed at the Nebraska base because it was considered one of the most fortified locations in the nation. A turning point for Bowlby was the death of his mother in 2000. "Her big thing, while l was in the Air Force, was to get me Lo go to college," he says. "She's my motivation." Even though BowlbyS fa thee was living in Portland, PSU was not a shoe in. He shopped around the country before deciding on Portland State. However, when he got here, it was all about family. While vi.siting his father's ancestral home in Cornelius, he was surprised to find out that his great– great-grandfather, Wilson Bowlby, was a covered wagon pioneer on the Ore– gon Trail. "Moving here was a cool idea because I've been able to spend time with my father and learn about the original Wilson Bowlby," he says. Born in New Jersey, the first Wilson Bowlby came to Oregon in 1852, became a doctor, set up practice in Cornelius, and eventually served in the Oregon Legislature, rising to Senate president in 1862. Now that he's out of the military and looking forward to a new career, Bowlby, it seems, wi.ll never quite leave the Air Force behind. He insists that the single most important thing Portland State does is support veterans. "It seems like a lot of the veterans today don't know about the services available to them," Bowlby says. "That's the most important thing-helping the veterans." SPRING 2006 PSU MAGAZINE 19