(From left) Sgt. John Bowers, then-Sergeant 1st Class RC Akfor, and Sergeant Robert Peredo, guarding the grill while deployed to Camp Taji, Iraq. Bowers enlisted in the army after high school and was the first to meet a Chamorro outside of his immediate family.
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Retired Army Sergeant First Class John Bowers is currently a civilian instructor at the Training Support Center, part of the Directorate General of Planning, Training, Mobilization and Security, US Army Post at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Growing up, he said that family was always an important aspect of his life, and that whenever he met other Chamorros or Pacific Islanders, he felt an instant connection and they would soon become family.
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Fort Huachuca, Arizona – Throughout May, we will be celebrating the Asian American and Pacific Islander Celebration, an annual celebration that honors the historical and cultural contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander descendants to the United States. Celebrate National Heritage Month.
One of them is John Bowers, a garrison officer. He is an Army Veteran of his 24 years and currently works as an instructor at the Training Support Center.
Bowers is from Guam, but was born in Las Vegas when her mother traveled to visit family when she was eight months pregnant. He and his mother returned to Guam after the visit and lived there for two years before the family settled permanently in Las Vegas.
Growing up, family was always an important aspect of his life. His mother ended up buying a house next door to her sister, and he was always surrounded by a large family.
There was a time when as many as 20 people lived in her mother’s house while she was in Las Vegas. Bowers said she thought it was normal for her to grow up in a home with so many people.
“Sometimes me, my grandfather and four or five male cousins would sleep in the living room,” Bowers said. “My uncle, aunt and his daughter would have been in the bedroom. My grandmother and sister would be in another room and her mother would have her own room.”
His surname was originally Atoig, but changed to Bowers when his stepfather adopted him in 1983. Changing his last name was a difficult decision for Mr. Bowers, but an important one for his mother.
“I wanted my mother to be happy. She met an Air Force soldier who completely changed our lives,” Bowers said. “At the time, I had never met my biological father and didn’t know what to say, but I didn’t want to hurt my mother’s feelings, so I said yes.” If I had known, I would have kept my last name. [exposed] To my own culture later. ”
Bowers joined the army after graduating from high school, and it was the first time he had met a Chamorro outside of his immediate family. The sergeant major at Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), Texas, was also Chamorro and often invited Bowers to barbecues.
Throughout his 24-year career, he has spent time in Kentucky, Arizona, Texas, Germany, Hawaii, South Korea, and Colorado. He was always surrounded by people of similar backgrounds, but it wasn’t until he went to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii that Bowers felt a strong connection to his roots and island culture.
It wasn’t since he was two years old that he was surrounded by a life like home. He felt a sense of belonging, that he belonged there.
“When I got there, I was like, ‘I don’t want to go back to the mainland,'” Bowers said. “Even if it’s not my home island, I’d like to retire there someday.”
That strong sense of family continues for Bowers. He has five daughters and one son. Bowers tries to introduce his family to his culture without forcing it, he said.
The Bowers’ youngest son, Tano, who means land in his native language, Chamorro, is raised in a more traditional way and introduced to the culture of the island. Bowers hopes to bring him to Guam to help him better understand his family roots.
“I want my son to be exposed to this culture,” he said. “He’s going to have American pride rooted in him, but he understands that it’s also his culture, and he shouldn’t forget it.”
Whenever Ms. Bowers meets other Chamorros and Pacific Islanders, she feels an immediate affinity, and they quickly become family. They buy each other beers and invite them to barbecues, as if they’ve known each other for years.
“When islanders see other islanders, it’s like a celebration,” says Bowers. “You suddenly became just a family.”
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Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Army Signal Command, and supports over 48 tenants representing a diverse and multidisciplinary workforce. Our unique environment includes 946 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected microwave ovens, which are critical elements of our national defense mission.
Located in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, about 25 miles north of the Mexican border, Fort Huachuca is a frontier military installation with a rich history. Founded in 1877, the fort was designated a national landmark in 1976.
We are the home of the Army.Learn more about https://home.army.mil/huachuca/.
