WWII vet staying active

CLOVIS - Steve Owen has lived nearly his entire life in Clovis, with one big exception. He was drafted in 1942 to serve in World War II, which took him from the boundaries of the state to foreign shores, serving in the South West Pacific Area.

At 101, Owen is one of few remaining veterans from WWII, which ended 74 years ago. He served 3 1/2 years in the Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic.

This year he was elected to be Saturday's marshal of the Clovis Veterans Day Parade, as community members celebrated his service and that of his fellow veterans.

Owen was born in a small community south of Clovis where he lived on a farm with his family while raising horses. He lived with his parents, brother and five sisters. He attended school in Clovis and remembers passing time at the Mesa movie theater, mostly watching cowboy movies.

"I never really considered myself a cowboy, but I was close enough I guess with all the horses," Owen said.

His father was contracted to run the local school bus, with Owen following in his footsteps from a young age. He also drove until he was 17, at which point he said the government raised the mandatory driving age to 18.

After being drafted and starting service on July 8, 1942, Owen went to basic training for two weeks at Sheppard air base near Wichita Falls, Texas. After that he went to Weatherford, Okla., to attend an aircraft engine mechanic school.

He learned alongside a group of 25 fellow soldiers who remained together until the group was deployed overseas. He was assigned as part of the Second Engineering Overhaul Squadron of the Army Air Corps, where his job was refitting and repairing service aircraft.

Owen spent time exploring Weatherford during training and first met his wife Beatrice there; she was attending college at the time. He recalled staying with other members of the military in the empty girls' dorm before being sent elsewhere. He and Beatrice wrote to each other regularly while he was away.

From Weatherford, Owen was sent to bases in San Antonio, Texas, Albuquerque and Roswell. He said at the time he was surprised to find there were so many military bases in the area. He returned to San Antonio once more before finally being sent overseas, where he spent most of his remaining service in the SWPA.

He first deployed to Australia then stopped in New Guinea for a time before spending his last few months at Baik Island in Malaysia. He was discharged on Dec. 27, 1945.

During his service he earned an American Campaign medal, a Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, a Good Conduct Medal and a WWII Victory Medal.

He married Beatrice shortly after returning home and had two sons, George and Alan. Owen went to school to be a barber in 1951 and spent most of his days cutting hair in Clovis until retiring.

These days, Owen lives by himself in Clovis in a house he built in 1960. His wife passed away in 2013. He stays active at church and as a longtime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3280.

Owen's nephew Vernon Luce serves as the post commander and served in the Navy during Vietnam.

"I've known him all my life and he's been a very close family member all these years," Luce said. "He actually enlisted on my birthday."