Civil Engineer in the Navy
By Mitchell LoCigno
Bradford Bowker
January 27, 1906 – November 15, 1996
Bradford Bowker was born in Whitefield, New Hampshire on January 27, 1906 to Edgar M. Bowker and Marie Halligan. In his earlier years, Bowker attended and graduated high school at Whitefield High School in 1925.[1] He later graduated from college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute which was considered to be a prestigious school in 1929.[2] By the time Bowker was 23, he had earned his degree in civil engineering.[3] Later in 1934 at the age of 28, Bowker married his first wife Reita M Vognild on April 21, 1934 in Concord, New Hampshire.[4] Bowker and Reita had a child named Ruth who was born in 1936.[5]
Poster for the Navy Seabees. (https://www.seabeesmuseum.com/seabee-history)
Bradford Bowker started his service in the Navy on October 15, 1940.[6] In his early military life, just around the time before World War II, Bowker was a lieutenant in the Philippines helping build / rebuild airstrips in unsafe distance from enemy fire and territory.[7] Bowker later made the rank of rear-admiral for the Seabees.[8] Rear admiral is a very selective position that is chosen by a senior commissioned officer. There is a difficult screening and approval process in order to achieve this rank.[9] The Navy Seabees were considered naval construction battalions that used civilian contractors.[10] Much of Bowker’s life had been spent as a civil engineer which helped him work on great structures during World War II as a Seabee. During this time, he was in the South Pacific helping build airstrips.[11] At one point and time, Bradford Bowker was in command of 5,000 men.[12]
By 1950 Bradford Bowker was divorced and working in Denver on a stadium.[13] This is where he met a woman named Ernestine who would become his wife in 1953.[14] Ernestine during this time was working out of an optical warehouse. The couple moved to Las Vegas in 1953 where Bradford worked for the Atomic Energy Commission.[15] Bowker was building towers for nuclear bombs to be tested above-ground; however, this practice did not last long and was banned in 1963.[16] Constructing building, towers, and airstrips was something Bowker was very good at. It is shown that he helped with building what is considered the old MGM Grand and even a hotel casino.[17] At the age of 54, he was the county engineer. Not only that, but Bowker was also teaching civil engineering during this time to local students.[18]
Upon his retirement, Bowker spent a good amount of time traveling around South and Central America.[19] While he remained skilled in civil engineering, he would also become skilled in many new hobbies as wood sculpting and fly fishing.[20] Bradford Bowker died at the age of 90 on November 15, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[21] His remains were interred at Fort Logan National Cemetery in 2000.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “Bowker Life Achievements,” Las Vegas Sun, November 19, 1996, https://lasvegassun.com/news/1996/nov/19/bowker-life-achievements/.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Admiral, Engineer Bowker Dies at 90,” Las Vegas Sun, November 19, 1996,https://lasvegassun.com/news/1996/nov/19/admiral-engineer-bowker-dies-at-90/.
[4] Ancestry.com.
[5] “Bowker Life Achievements.”
[6] Ancestry.com.
[7] “Bowker Dies at 90.”
[8] “Bowker Life Achievements.”
[9] Enterprises, Marathon Studios, “Ranks.org,” Military, accessed May 14, 2021. https://www.military-ranks.org/navy/rear-admiral.
[10] “Seabee History,” Seabee Museum and Memorial park – Seabee History, accessed May 15, 2021, https://www.seabeesmuseum.com/seabee-history.
[11] “Bowker Dies at 90.”
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] “Bowker Dies at 90.”
[21] Ancestry.com.
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