Halstead Clotworthy Fowler (19 April 18897 September 1950) was a colonel in the United States Army. He commanded the 71st Field Artillery during the

Philippines campaign (1941–1942) The Philippines campaign (, , ), also known as the Battle of the Philippines () or the Fall of the Philippines, was the invasion of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Philippines by the Empire of Japan during the Pacific War, Pacific Theater ...

and was multiply decorated. He was a survivor of the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...

and prisoner of war.

Early life

Halstead Fowler was born in 1899 in Brooklyn, New York to Halstead Parker Fowler and Carrie Haines Fowler. His father was an architect and a captain in the

New York National Guard New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. After his father died, he moved to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

where he attended high school and the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

for one year before transferring to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1918, graduating in 1920.

Early military career

Fowler spent two and a half years in the 61st Antiaircraft Battalion at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

before being sent to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in 1923. He returned to

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark a ...

in the United States and transferred to the field artillery at

Fort Benjamin Harrison Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis, between 1906 and 1991. It is named for the 23rd United States president, Benjamin Harrison. History In 190 ...

. He attended the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

and then was an Assistant Professor of Military Science and Tactics at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Invasion of the Philippines

Fowler returned to the Philippines in October 1941 as a major and soon thereafter a lieutenant colonel, commanding the 71st Field Artillery of the Philippine Army. Fowler's unit fought a delaying action after the

Japanese invasion of Lingayen Gulf The Japanese invasion of Lingayen Gulf (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Paglusob ng mga Hapones sa Golfo ng Lingayen'', Pangasinan language, Pangasinese: ''Inlusob na Hapon ed Gulpo na Lingayen'', Ilocano language, Ilocano: ''Panagraut dagiti H ...

and retreated south to the

Bataan peninsula Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga, Bataan, Balanga while Mariveles, ...

. For his actions at the

Agno River The Agno River, also known as the Pangasinan River, is a river on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Traversing the provinces of Benguet, Pangasinan, and Tarlac, it is one of the largest river systems in the country, with a drainage ar ...

, Luzon in December 1941 and northern Bataan in January 1942, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross twice. He was wounded three times in four weeks between December 1941 and January 1942 and then captured after the surrender.

Prisoner of war

Fowler survived the

and was held prisoner at the

Bilibid The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, is the main insular prison designed to house the prison population of the Philippines. It is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections (Philippines), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under ...

prisoner of war camp. He never fully recovered from his wounds and loss of eyesight during captivity and retired as a colonel on 30 September 1946.

Later life

Fowler had married Margaret "Tykie" Adams, the daughter of Brigadier General William K. Naylor and mother of Fowler's three stepchildren, in 1938. After his retirement, they lived on a farm in

Afton, Virginia Afton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Albemarle and Nelson counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is newly listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 313. Geography It is located in the foothi ...

and he died there on 7 September 1950. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

on 11 September 1950.

Early life

Early military career

Invasion of the Philippines

Prisoner of war

Later life

See also

References

Further reading