Being nearly ten years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, Bernard G. Bowyer soon became fascinated with everything about World War II. When the U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal in 1942, Bowyer suddenly knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life: become a United States Marine.

Bowyer enlisted at the age of seventeen and soon began a lifetime adventure. Over twenty-one years, he served at several stateside duty stations, including South Carolina, California, and Virginia, and multiple overseas assignments, including Africa, Japan, and Australia. He served a tour in Vietnam from 1967-1968 where he also was involved in the Tet offensive.

With hard work and determination Bowyer worked his way through the ranks and retired as a captain in 1970. He subsequently became affiliated with the Marine Corps League, a veteran's organization which enabled him to maintain the camaraderie he experienced when on active duty.

Full of vivid details of Bowyer's experiences in battle, his relationship with comrades, and his staunch patriotism, Duty, Honor, and Privilege is the powerful, true story of one man's fulfillment of a childhood dream to become one of the few-and one of the proud.

Gene Bowyer was born and raised in West Virginia and was the second of eight children. Gene enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1949 at the age of 17. This was the result of World War II and his dream of becoming a Marine. Over the next twenty-one years he served in several stateside duty stations and various overseas assignments. Gene served with the 3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion, 1st Marin Division, FMF, in Vietnam in 1967-68 and was involved in the Tet offensive in January February 1968. Gene enlisted as a Private and was fortunate to have worked his way through the ranks and retired with the rank of Captain in 1970. This is a brief description of some of the events he experiences during his career while in the Marine Corps and subsequently upon his retirement. It also touches on his affiliation with the Marine Corps League, a veteran's organization which he now is able to maintain some of the camaraderie once experienced when on active duty.