Pvt. Troy Bowling
Branch of Service: Marine Corps
Years of Service: 1943-1945
Awards: Presidential Unit Citation, Purple Heart
Pvt. Troy Bowling entered the Marine Corps in 1943 at 19, serving with the Easy Company 2nd Battalion. His unit was among the first wave on Iwo Jima, Japan in 1945. The second day after his arrival, his unit was attacked and many left for dead. Although Pvt. Bowling was shot in his chest and leg, a combat photographer called for a medical team that evacuated him. He remembered, “As I lay bleeding on the black sands of Iwo Jima I looked to the heavens promising that if I survived I would serve mankind for the rest of my life.”
After being visited by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) while recuperating in the States, he decided to join the organization. Pvt. Bowling began training with the DAV in 1951 while holding a full-time job, helping veterans and widows file claims for VA benefits, serving in many offices and eventually as State Commander. After his civilian retirement, he continued to volunteer at the Lexington VA Medical Center, arriving at 5:00 a.m., 5 days a week. He accumulated accumulating over 73,000 volunteer hours during a remarkable 63 years of processing veterans and assembling personal care packages for new hospital inpatients. He earned several awards including the George H. Seal Award for Outstanding Volunteer and the Lifetime Service Achievement Award. He carried the bullet next to his spine, a physical testament to the promise he unfailingly kept until his death on June 17, 2017.