Good For You: France honors Navy veteran for World War II service
William T. Bowers of Clearwater has been appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by French President Nicolas Sarkozy as a sign of that country's gratitude for the contribution Bowers made toward its liberation during World War II.
The Legion of Honor was created by Napoleon in 1802 to acknowledge services rendered to France by persons of exceptional merit.
Bowers, a Navy veteran, was part of an all-volunteer group assigned to patrol and defend a large coastal area of the Mediterranean Sea, including France, in plywood PT boats. In these small, heavily armed craft, he and his fellow sailors engaged the enemy and sank ships of all descriptions. The boats were also utilized to locate mines.
"Other Navy men sometimes referred to us as a bunch of insane men in wooden boats," recalled the 89-year-old.
For its defense of Mediterranean countries during the conflict, Bowers' group was awarded the European Theater Ribbon with three Battle Stars.
Bowers and his mates saw a lot of action, especially during the invasion of Elba during the summer of 1944. "We lost a lot of our fellow PT boats during that time but were told that our little PT boats were responsible for sinking more enemy tonnage than any other boats in that area during the war."