In
a surprise event in 1995, Bowditch was
informed he was entitled to the American
Bronze Star for his wartime
service. Strangely , the Americans had
not been able to track him down , despite his fame in Australia as a fighting editor involved in international news stories and was even well known to ASIO . The failure to track him down may have been due to the contact address for his mother , next of kin in England
, had changed . When he joined the
Australian Army he had given her address
as 173 Half Way
Street , Sidcup, Kent. It had
changed to 38 Belmont Park, Lewisham.
His whereabouts became known when Professor Alan Powell of what was then the Northern Territory University, studying wartime archives in America , came across mention of Bowditch . Powell told the Americans the missing Sergeant Bowditch was alive and living in Darwin. The citation which went with the medal said Sergeant Bowditch had shown a sense of loyalty and ability to carry out any task given him with a complete disregard for personal safety while working with American forces . At a special ceremony in Darwin at the Larrakeyah Army Barracks Museum on September 26 l995 , the US Defence Attache to Canberra, Colonel Stephen Barneyback , presented Bowditch with the medal .
His whereabouts became known when Professor Alan Powell of what was then the Northern Territory University, studying wartime archives in America , came across mention of Bowditch . Powell told the Americans the missing Sergeant Bowditch was alive and living in Darwin. The citation which went with the medal said Sergeant Bowditch had shown a sense of loyalty and ability to carry out any task given him with a complete disregard for personal safety while working with American forces . At a special ceremony in Darwin at the Larrakeyah Army Barracks Museum on September 26 l995 , the US Defence Attache to Canberra, Colonel Stephen Barneyback , presented Bowditch with the medal .
Colonel Barneyback
was accompanied by
Sergeant Drew Holliday
who specialised in
tracking down undiscovered
recipients of American
medals. Sergeant Holliday
told Bowditch he was receiving the medal
during the 50th anniversary of
Victory in the Pacific.
Near the
end of his
life, Bowditch would
go to the
ANZ bank at the Casuarina shopping centre , cash
a cheque into
five dollar bills , go outside and
give the money away to
passers-by who he thought
were “ doing it tough ”.
Once
the money was gone, he
would return to
the bank , cash another
cheque and repeat
the performance. A
bank teller rang
his daughter, Ngaire , and expressed
concern . The bank staff
were worried that he
could be “rolled ” as
he walked about
with a bundle of five dollar
bills in his hand .
Ngaire discussed the
situation with her father ; he responded
by saying he was working
to assist the
poor , and that it
was “my job” to hand
out money to
those in need.
“ My
father was always
a kind and
generous man ,” said Ngaire, “ so
it didn’t surprise
me that he
was giving his
money away. I
guess with the
onset of dementia
it was quite reasonable for a compassionate man like
my father to
see this as his
work and social duty.
The bank said
his largesse left
little money in
his account upon which to
live ; it had also
feared that people
would take advantage
of him . ”
