Del Hayes Press

MSgt. Joseph P. Bowman

Originally from Crockett, California, Joseph P. Bowman was raised in French Gulch, a small mining town northwest of Redding. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1978, and completed eight duty assignments during his 21-year career as a Security Policeman. 

A veteran of Desert Storm, his decorations include the Airman's Medal (the Air Force's highest peacetime decoration for valor), the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters. 

After retiring with the rank of master sergeant in 1999, Bowman spent eleven years with the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Today, he resides in the Central Valley with his wife of 37 years, and has two daughters and two grandchildren.

MSgt (Ret.) Joseph P. Bowman

Originally from Crockett, California, Joseph P. Bowman was raised in French Gulch, a small mining town northwest of Redding. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1978, and completed eight duty assignments during his 21-year career as a Security Policeman.

A veteran of Desert Storm, his decorations include the Airman's Medal (the Air Force's highest peacetime decoration for valor), the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters.

After retiring with the rank of master sergeant in 1999, Bowman spent eleven years with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Today, he resides in the Central Valley with his wife of 37 years, and has two daughters and two grandchildren.

Quietly Exploding

More decorated but less well-known than his legendary counterpart, Alvin C. York, Charles Staffelbach Barger had every reason to go bad. Born into a family of serial killers, used for farm labor by an elderly couple who adopted and orphaned him, poverty-stricken and homeless in his early teens, Charlie’s future looked only bleak.

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