Friends, family recall Jon Eric Bowman

Marine Lance Cpl. Jon Eric Bowman, who was killed earlier this week in Iraq, was concerned he would not make it through his second tour of duty in the war, his widow in Claiborne Parish said today.

The 21-year-old Bowman, of Summerfield, was killed Monday in Anbar province.

"It's an indescribable feeling when they don't come back," bowman's widow, Dawn, said. "You let go of them that last time when they leave, not knowing if you are ever going to see or touch them again."

The couple had been high school sweethearts at Summerfield High school. They got married three days before his first deployment to Iraq in 2004.

Bowman died when an insurgents' bomb detonated near his Humvee.

"He kept telling me he was having dreams that he wasn't going to make it back," his widow said. "And he didn't."

Dawn Bowman said her husband was having medical problems -- including blackouts -- that began after his first deployment to Iraq. They were hoping this would be his last tour of duty, she said.

"I talked to him the day he boarded the plane and he was getting in trouble because he wouldn't get off the phone (with me)," said his wife, who has a collage of pictures of the couple.

Greg Scriber, Bowman's baseball coach at Summerfield, described him as a good man and a true competitor.

"I hope he took some of that on the battlefield and learned to be a competitor at all times," Scriber said.

Scriber described Bowman as quiet, yet respected by his classmates.

"He didn't speak much, but when he did, he carried a big stick."

From KTBS 3

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Jon Eric Bowman killed by improvised explosive