Philip Harvey Bowling
World War I
I recently discovered, in a conversation with fellow Legion Auxiliary member Miriam Stelling, that Philip Harvey Bowling was a World War I veteran. I had thought I had caught all the WWI veterans already, but apparently there were several long-lived veterans further down the list. Harvey was one of them – he lived to the ripe old age of 97 years old!
Harvey, as he was known, was the son of William and Lillie Bowling and was born in Smith County, Virginia, in 1893. He and his twin sister, Laura, were the eldest of 13 children. One of his brothers was Robert Wylie Bowling, another Osmond veteran who I’ve already written about.
Around 1910, the family moved to the Osmond area. Harvey was 17 years old by then, and the census that year says that he was a wage earner, presumably working outside the home. His registration card for World War I, signed in 1917, states that he is farming for Wm. Neumeier of McLean.
An article in the May 24, 1917, Osmond Republican tells the story of him signing up, the first person in Pierce County to do so, entitled “Harvey Bowling Shows Patriotism.” It states “Harvey and [brother] Wiley Bowling and Jeff Thomas were at Pierce Monday, Harvey wishing to find out about registering for the conscription, as he and Jeff Thomas were intending to go to Virginia on a visit, and did not wish to delay their trip until after registration day.
Sheriff Goff and Clerk Mohrman fixed Harvey out all right. He thus becomes the first Pierce County young man to enroll. He claimed no exemption, but stands ready to answer his country’s call if the lot falls on him.”
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, his enlistment date in theArmy was May 24, 1918, and his discharge date was March 23, 1919, although the Veterans Administration Master Index gives his military date (usually the discharge date) as Sept. 31, 1921 — the latter date obviously a mistake because there are only 30 days in September. To make it even more confusing, his obituary states that he served in naval aviation from May 3, 1918, to May 19, 1921. His headstone is inscribed with “AMM2 U.S. Navy,” which means Aviation Machinist’s Mate Petty Officer 2nd Class. That is a rank in the Navy responsible for the maintenance and repair of aircraft engines and related systems.
Harvey was married to Lessie Crabtree on May 3, 1919, at Bristow, TN. After the war, they lived on a farm north of Foster. The couple had four sons and three daughters: James Edward “Jack”, Andrew Jackson, Bradley and Philip Harvey Jr., Alma, Marcella and Helen.
Lessie died in 1964, and in November of 1970, Harvey married Pearl Hall in Pierce.
Harvey died April 6, 1990, at Pierce Manor, where he had lived since 1982. Services were held at the Methodist Church in Pierce, with military rites conducted by Tomek-Otto American Legion Post 72 of Pierce, although Harvey was a charter member of American Legion Post 326 of Osmond.
He was survived by four sons, three daughters, 28 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren and nine greatgreat- grandchildren! Harvey was buried in the Osmond City Cemetery.
He is buried with his wife in the first row to the left of the main entrance, almost all the way to the end of the row. Other members of the Bowling family are buried nearby in the next row to the west.
Thank you to Kim Gardner for the picture of Harvey and to Miriam Stelling for making the connection for me.
