Edward Bowen carried a .45-caliber pistol, pencils, a sketchpad, Kodak Instamatic camera, and compact Bible into Vietnam in January 1969 for an unusual mission—documenting the war as a combat artist.
A 24-year-old art teacher at Villa Park High School, Bowen was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he would spend 10 weeks at basic training and 10 weeks studying to be a transmission mechanic and door gunner for military helicopters.
