Longest-Serving Marine Officially Retires After 43 Years

By Tactical-Life

The nation’s longest-serving Marine has officially retired after more than 43 years of service.

United States Marine Corps Col. Edmund Bowen called it a day during a recent ceremony in Washington, D.C. honoring his stellar career, Stars and Stripes says.

A native of Staten Island, New York and the second eldest of nine children, Col. Bowen worked as a paper carrier and then at a supermarket, and was training to be a boxer before he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was sent off to Parris Island, S.C. in September of 1972.

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Col. Bowen’s enlisted assignments included serving as an engineer equipment operator for 2nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune; platoon sergeant, 3rd Shore Party Battalion, 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan; NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge), Recruiting Sub-Station, Brooklyn New York; and senior NCOIC for Engineer Equipment Platoon, 1st Landing Support Battalion and 1st Force Service Support Group at Camp Pendleton.

Col. Bowen also served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Operation Restore Hope in Somalia; Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad, Iraq; and two tours of Operation Enduring Freedom in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

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Source:: Tactical Life