Army Sgt. Larry R. Bowman

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Larry R. Bowman, 29, of Granite Falls, N.C.

Sgt. Bowman was assigned to the 513th Transportation Company, 57th Transportation Battalion, 593rd Corps Support Group, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died April 13 in Baghdad, of wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.

Family remembers N.C. man killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

GRANITE FALLS, N.C. — The mother of an Army sergeant killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq says her son was “just a joy,” while a lifelong friend was impressed by how much he matured in the military.

“He was just a joy to watch grow up,” Barbara Braswell said. “I’m very proud of him. I loved him so much.”

Larry “Robby” Bowman, 29, of Granite Falls was killed April 13 in Baghdad. He was returning to Kuwait after dropping off supplies when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb, said his sister, Angela Sigmon.

Bowman was assigned to the 513th Transportation Company, 57th Transportation Battalion, 593rd Corps Support Group, at Fort Lewis, Wash. He was on his second tour of duty in the Middle East.

His friend, Richard Steer, remembered Bowman as being adventurous from the age of 5.

“He was always exploring in every direction,” Steer said. “He would come up with new and creative ways [for us] to entertain ourselves.”

Steer, 29, and Bowman lost touch as they reached high school, but that changed when Bowman returned from Tikrit and asked Steer to be in his wedding.

Bowman and his wife, Michelle, eloped in April 2005 but had a formal ceremony a year later. Steer was a groomsman at that wedding.

The Bowmans met at the Skylite Skating Rink in Hudson 14 years ago. She fell for him right away. “From the second I saw him from across the room, I knew he was the one,” Michelle Bowman said. “It just took me a while to reel him in.”

Bowman excelled during his four-year Army career, family and friends said.

“I was amazed at the level of maturity he reached,” Steer said. “He was talking about having a family.”

N.C. soldier killed in Iraq buried near home

The Associated Press

GRANITE FALLS, N.C. — Hundreds of mourners paid respects April 22 to Army Sgt. Larry “Robby” Bowman, 29, who was killed April 13 in Baghdad when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb as he returned to a base in Kuwait.

Friends and relatives from Caldwell County said Bowman was the life of the party and a man who drew a crowd.

His widow, Michelle Bowman, said she met him when she was 15 and said “he just took my breath away. He had such a wonderful presence and spirit. Everyone who knew him loved him.”

Bowman was assigned to the 513th Transportation Company, 57th Transportation Battalion, 593rd Corps Support Group, at Fort Lewis, Wash. He was on his second tour of duty in the Middle East.

After the funeral service at Dudley Shoals Baptist Church, Bowman was buried less than three miles from his boyhood home. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals posthumously.

Army Sgt. Larry R. Bowman was killed in action on 4/13/07.