Paul R. Gowen, son of Justin Byron Gowen and Antoinette Marie WasmerGowen, was born February 1, 1909 at Caldwell. Paul R. Gowen was agraduate of Caldwell High School and the University of Idaho at Moscowwhere he was gradu-ated with honors. Following college, he wasappointed to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point where he wasalso an honor graduate. He requested the Air Corps and, after flighttraining, was stationed in Louisiana, Oklahoma and the Canal Zone. Hewas married June 28, 1933 to Betty Wilson in San Antonio, Texas wherehe was stationed in the U. S. Army Air Corps. Gowen Field of Boisewas named July 23, 1941 in honor of 1st Lt. Paul R. Gowen of Caldwell,Idaho who was killed July 11, 1938 in Panama in the crash of histwin-engine Army Air Corps bomber, according to the July 23, 1941edition of "Idaho Daily Statesman." "The War Department an-nouncedits deci-sion to honor Lt. Gowen, chosen from names of three IdahoArmy pilots who had met death in the line of duty, after several weeksof consider-ation. His plane crashed in flames on the PaitillaPoint military reser-vation shortly after taking off from AlbrookField near Panama City. His navigator and radioman crawled from thewreckage severely burned. They reported that smoke began pouring outof right engine shortly before it went dead. Lt. Gowen was un-able togain altitude with only one engine and attempted to glide to the oceanless than two miles away. A few hundred yards from the water theplane was impacted by tree tops and plunged into the jungle. He waskilled in-stantly. He was 29. The accident was witnessed by a groupof coast artillery sol-diers working in the vicinity. They sent arescue party and brought the survivors to a hospital. Lt. Gowenwas survived by his wife, the former Betty Wilson of Twin Falls, Idahoand a small daughter, Stephanie who had lived with him in the CanalZone for the previous year. Other sur-vivors include his parents ofCaldwell; two sis-ters, Mrs. Robert Walker of Caldwell and Miss DaphneGowen of Lew-iston and three brothers, William B. Gowen of Boise,Ralph B. Gowen of Twin Falls and Justin B. Gowen "who is on a leave ofab-sence from Katowice, Poland where he is em-ployed by AnacondaMining Co." In a ceremony held April 9, 1942, the name of GowenField was formally adopted by the U. S. Army. Col. Charles B.Old-field, commanding officer invited mem-bers of Lt. Gowen's familyas guests of honor for the dedication. Rep-resenting the family wereMiss Daphne Gowen, sister, Lewiston; Mrs. William B. Gow-en,sister-in-law, Boise and Justin B. Gowen, brother, Butte, Montana,according to the "Idaho Daily Statesman:" Michael Monroe Gollaharwrote April 9, 1998: "Lt. Gowen was a handsome, dashing fellow. Iwill forward your Foundation article on him to the public affairsofficer at Gowen Field who may want to use it in a future edition ofthe Guard's newspaper or base guide. I was the Army National Guardpublic affairs officer at Gowen Field for several years. The base isnow the home of the Army and Air Force National Guard of Idaho, aswell as the Army Reserves. It became a major National Guard TrainingCenter for Armor, and the associated Orchard Training Range in thehigh desert area south of Gowen Field is arguably the mosttechnologically advanced and difficult multi-purpose armor trainingrange in the entire U.S. Army. There are currently over 1,200full-time employees working at Gowen Field which shares runways withthe Boise Airport which is just outside of Boise. Gowen Field wasa major Army Air Corps Bomber Training Base during World War II andhoused the likes of the famous "Hells Angels" Bomb Group. For their50th Anniversary, they all showed up at Gowen Field and dedicated amarvellous memorial at the base. Jimmy Stewart trained at the base,and it was the home of the famous Norden Bomb Sight, a highly secretpiece of equipment during the war. Currently Idaho Air NationalGuard has a combined wing, flying C-130s and A-10s attack aircraft.The units there include the headquarters elements and several units ofthe 116th Cavalry Brigade [Heavy], the 183rd Aviation [AttackHelicopter], flying Apache and Blackhawk helicopters and several othersupport units." Michael A. Woody wrote April 14, 1998: "I aman aircraft mechanic and worked a couple of years [1986 and 1987] inPanama. I lived near Paitilla Point airport in Panama which is nowpretty well surrounded by buildings. This airport lays north andsouth to the ocean. On the west side are a lot of high-rise apartmentbuildings. On the east side are mainly one-story residences. At thattime Noriega had a twin engine jet at the airport, but later it ismostly for small aircraft. During the 1970s I was doing aerialphotography, mostly farms and small businesses. Our work extendedinto Idaho, and I landed many times at Gowen Field. I am glad thatyou are keeping the history of Gowen Field alive. Where I grew up inEverett, Washington, there was a Paine Air Force Base. When it wasclosed, the city changed the name to Sonohomish County Airport, andthe history of the air base will probably be lost. Boeing 747s arebeing built there now." Lt. Paul R. Gowen was buried in CanyonHill Cemetery. Children born to Lt. Paul R. Gowen and Betty WilsonGowen include Stephanie Gowen, born about 1935.