We Will Never Forget

In Memory of Capt. Matthew Joseph August
2/19/1975 - 1/27/2004
One of three soldiers killed in a roadside bomb attack in Khalidiya, just east of Ramadi, Iraq, on January 27, 2004

Home City and State: North Kingstown, RI
Military Branch/Unit: Company B, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, U.S. Army
Dates Served: 6/10/1993 - 1/27/2004
Tour of Duty: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Locations Served: USMA West Point, NY; Fort Benning, GA; Fort Riley, KS

Biography
Matthew August graduated in the United States Military Academy Class of 1997 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. Ten years to the day after he took the oath of office on the Plain at West Point, he took command of “Bulldog" Company 1st Engineers at Fort Riley; they deployed to Iraq in September 2003.

On January 27, 2004, he led his company to investigate a report of a weapons cache. When the convoy arrived at the town of Khalidiya, it was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED), which knocked out Matthew’s Humvee. As the engineers formed a security perimeter, another IED was detonated, followed by small-arms fire. Medics rushed to the burning Humvee and pulled out the occupants.

Matthew, his First Sergeant and driver were killed immediately. The gunner died two days later from his wounds. Matt’s wife Maureen got a report at her office in Baghdad that a unit had been attacked with multiple casualties. She called Bulldog Company’s headquarters and asked for the company commander. The person answering the phone was silent for a moment before saying, “Just a moment Ma’am.” An officer came on the line and told Maureen that her husband was among the dead. Maureen said she only replied, “No!” and hung up the phone. A few minutes later her battalion commander and a chaplain came to her and confirmed the report. They told her to gather a few things because she was going to be taken to the airport in Baghdad to escort her husband’s body and those of the other men killed that day back to the United States.

Memories shared by Richard J. August, Proud Father
Matt was a good student who was satisfied with average or just above average grades. His mother and I would often find him “studying” on his bed with his eyes closed, book open across his chest. He would open one eye and say that he was “sharpening his ax.” This referred to a fable I had told him about the woodsman who took frequent breaks, rested and sharpened his ax while his partner worked furiously all day chopping wood with a dull tool. Of course, at the end of the day the woodsman with a sharp ax cut more wood. Later, Matt’s wife Maureen said this habit would drive her crazy when the two of them were studying together for their master’s degrees at the University of Missouri. She would pull an “all-nighter” and Matt would “sharpen his ax.” The next day their grades were usually similar. She said Matt told her his secret was to pay attention to the instructor during class.

An avid outdoorsman, Matt loved to hunt and fish. He got a determined look on his face when he saw trout or bass rising. Matt hunted pheasant, prairie chicken, ducks, deer, wild turkey and boar using bow and arrow, shotgun, black powder muzzle loader and rifle. He respected the game he hunted. On a Kansas duck hunting trip with me, Matt dropped a duck that fell in the swift current and floated away before we could reach it. I had to restrain him from wading out in the frigid water and risking his life to try to retrieve the duck.

In Memory of Staff Sgt. Timothy Louis Bowles
4/17/1984 - 3/15/2009
Killed along with three other soldiers when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan

Home City and State: Tucson, AZ
Military Branch/Unit: 3rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, 3rd Mission Support Group, 3rd Wing, U.S. Air Force
Dates Served: 5/13/2003 – 3/15/2009
Tour of Duty: Operation Enduring Freedom
Locations Served: Cannon AFB, NM; Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea; Elmendorf AFB, AK

Biography
Staff Sergeant Timothy Louis Bowles was born on April 17, 1984 at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. He grew up in Tucson, Arizona and graduated from Tucson High School in 2002. He attended Pima Community College before enlisting in the United States Air Force as a Fire Truck Maintenance Technician on May 13, 2003. His first assignment was to the 27th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. He was assigned to Cannon from December 2003 to July 2006. From July 2006 to July 2007, he was reassigned to the 8th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea. In July 2007, Timothy was reassigned to the 3rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, he volunteered to go to Afghanistan as part of a Provision Reconstruction Team within the Nangarhar Province. He deployed on November 1, 2008 and was scheduled to remain in country for nine months. His duties included maintaining the PRT vehicles on the base and on the road. On some operations, he would pull double duty as vehicle mechanic and dismounted security, and then return to the base and repair vehicles to have them ready for the next day.

On March 15, 2009, Timothy was on a four-vehicle security patrol to check on a local school site in Kot, Afghanistan. He was in an armored Humvee with three Illinois Guardsmen when their vehicle rolled over and detonated a pressure-sensitive bomb.

Memories shared by Louis G Bowles Jr., Proud Father, Master Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Retired
There are so many memories with Tim and not enough space to write them. One of our last memories was Mother's Day Weekend 2008. Timothy had arranged for us to fly out to California and meet him in Los Angeles (it was supposed to be a surprise for his mom). We spent a couple of days at Disneyland and California Adventure. It was just Timothy and us.

Another memory is in July 2007, Tim had returned from Korea and we went for a motorcycle ride one afternoon. The ride was cut short when my motorcycle broke; Tim had to go home, get the truck and haul me and the bike home.