My Life and Lens

About the Book

Journalists possess critical responsibilities—one is simply to inform, another is to explain. As a military photojournalist during the Vietnam Era, Bob Bowen has captured visually with his camera and explained eloquently with his written words, the horrors and the honorable service of that period. In his new book My Life and Lens, Bowen articulates not only high action combat but the artful subtleties and tactics of warfare. He writes so well that the reader is pulled into the stories as if there in person.

It is one thing to provide facts to America’s cumulative history; it’s another to display the facts through personal experiences. One will learn through reading this memoir that the life of a journalist in a war zone could be short-lived. It is dangerous work; but when successful, the work informs. This is what makes Bowen’s book such a compelling read.

This memoir is an excellent pictorial and literary contribution not only to our nation’s history but in the recognition of those who honorably participated in that unpopular conflict. Respect is demonstrated to the families of the brave American heroes of this long-ago era by Bob Bowen’s memorializing them in his book. - Worth Earlwood Norman, Jr., retired account executive, EDS Corporation; author of two biographies—James Solomon Russell: Former Slave, Pioneer Educator, and Episcopal Evangelist (McFarland Publishing, 2012), William Jelks Cabaniss, Jr., Crossing Lines in His Business, Political and Diplomatic Life (Archdeacon Books, 2014) and one memoir, Six Bits: USMC 1962-1963 (My Years in USMC Bands 1962-1966) (Kindle eBook)

I predict this is a great book by Bob Bowen who is writing about his own life during the Vietnam War. Bob is an expert photographer and was a war correspondent and a fine writer. This job was dangerous. This book could really take off and be a great success. I recommend it to anyone interested in the Vietnam War. The war was a harrowing experience for the men involved, and they have never been given proper credit for their bravery. - Don Gilmore, author, Eyewitness Vietnam

The images you captured of our Marines in Vietnam are unequaled. Your book will be a smash hit! - Franklin Cox, author, Lullabies for Lieutenants

My friend Bob Bowen has been a member of The American Legion for more than four decades, during which time he has been totally devoted to our country, our veterans, and their families. This memoir details his insights not only into war and coming home, but also into the people who are Americans. His life is proof that when most veterans take off their uniforms, they don’t quit their service to the nation. My Life and Lens is the inspiring story of how one Marine is still serving America. - Daniel S. Wheeler, National Adjutant, The American Legion

About the Author

Captain Robert L. “Bob” Bowen was born January 12, 1941, and he enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1960. While with Leatherneck Magazine he served three tours as a combat correspondent in Vietnam, later serving another tour in Vietnam with the First Marine Division. Bob also served as chief photojournalism instructor at the Defense Information School in Indianapolis; he was then promoted to first lieutenant and served a four-year tour as station manager of the Far East Radio and Television Station at Misawa Air Base, Japan. Captain Bowen retired in 1980 while serving as the Marine Corps spokesman in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs at the Pentagon, and he later retired again in 1996 from a career in public affairs with the State Department, Justice Department, and Voice of America. Bob lives today with his wife of thirty-four years, Helen, in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Robin Kern worked twenty-four years as a graphic specialist and editor for the Department of Defense at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and she is currently a DoD contractor providing graphic and archival support at Fort Leavenworth. Robin is also an editor, and she has created graphics for several books on the Vietnam War and other American military engagements.