In 1977 Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States. A gallon of gas cost 65 cents and America was just meeting a young Luke Skywalker as the first Star Wars movie hit theaters. It was during that same year that Korean War Veteran Bernie Siegel passed the baton of service to his daughter.
At the time, neither of them would ever imagine she'd carry it for 39 years.
Geraldine Bowers, now the Army's most senior Chief Warrant Officer 5 and the Eighth Army Command Inspection Program coordinator at Yongsan Army Garrison, Korea knew she wanted to serve her country at a young age, thanks to her father.
Siegel served during the Korean War from late 1952 to 1954, where he was assigned to Eighth Army and stationed at Camp H1, now referred to as Camp Stanley. During his time in Eighth Army he repaired helicopters and performed duties as a crew chief.
"He would always tell his stories of flying in helicopters, Bowers said as she smiled and glanced at the ceiling. "He was a crew chief and that was very fascinating to me."
After the war, Siegel returned home to Brooklyn, NY where he began an occupation as a general contractor installing and fixing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Some of his jobs took him to Fort Dix, NJ where a young Bowers would always follow.
"She got involved with everyone in the Army out there, said Siegel. "She was nine, and we would eat in the mess halls and she loved it. " Siegel laughed as he added, "She ruined a few of my Korean uniforms because she used to wear them out so much,"
"I knew at a very young age I would join the military," said Bowers in her thick Brooklyn accent. "It's the only thing I wanted to do."
She enlisted into the Coast Guard National Guard in 1977. A year later, Bowers left the Coast Guard to enlist into the United States Army, and following in her father's footsteps, she enlisted as a helicopter mechanic and crew chief.
Two years later Bowers attended and graduated from Warrant Officer School and would spend the next 36 years breaking down barriers.
She was the first person in her flight class to fly solo with a minimum of ten hours. Bowers would go on to pilot 13 types of fixed winged and rotary aircraft. During this time, she would log 8500 hours of flight time. Bowers became the only female pilot for the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse helicopter to ever hold positions of instructor pilot, instrument examiner and maintenance test pilot.
"I enjoyed being a maintenance test pilot because you're always trying to solve problems and you're working with a team," said Bowers. "Without that team and everyone's input, I feel we're weak."
Of course during Bower's 39 years of service she has seen the Army change in a lot of ways. For example, one of the first helicopters she piloted, the UH-1, utility helicopter is now obsolete. So are several others, such as the OH-58 and the OH-6.
But for her, this is what makes the military and the Army special.
"Everything changes and the only constant is change and that's good," said Bowers. "The requirements of the Army, the defense of our country the different skills, the different requirements of individuals and equipment need that change."
One thing hasn't become obsolete during Bower's almost four decades of military service and that's teamwork. Its something she's enjoyed and relied on from her time as a maintenance test pilot to her current role as Eighth Army's Command Inspection Program coordinator.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," said Bowers when she was asked what she thinks Soldiers will remember about her when she retires. "The Army doesn't operate with one person. The Army cannot operate with one person; we operate as a team. You have to do your part to be a member of the team."
On October 25, 2016, Chief Bowers prepared to say goodbye to that team during a simple ceremony at a theater in Yongsan. As her dad, Bernie watched his daughter retire, he couldn't help but reminisce.
The father who used to hold his little girl's hand as they walked the streets of Fort Dix, telling her his exciting stories of Korea and his helicopter missions, couldn't be happier of his daughter's accomplished career and upcoming retirement.
There are no words to say how proud I am of her, said Siegel, the 86-year-old Korean War veteran. "She's a great daughter and I couldn't ask for a better daughter." "She's a pilot of various aircraft she's an inspector she's an instructor, I mean you name it and she's got the ticket."
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