Bobby Bowden retraces World War II from Omaha Beach to Battle of the Bulge
Bobby Bowden in Europe working on World War II documentary. (Karim Shamsi-Basha)
Above: Bobby Bowden in Europe working on World War II documentary. (Karim Shamsi-Basha)
Bobby Bowden reflects on World War II while visiting historic battle sites from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
When legendary football coach Bobby Bowden climbed up on the Sherman tank in Normandy, France, I held my breath.
He is a gentle, older man with receding white hair and a matter-of-fact demeanor. He calls everyone “boy,” and you can’t help but love him as he interviews World War II veterans and asks them poignant and heart-felt questions. He has been chosen as the narrator for an upcoming television documentary on the war to air next year on cable television.
Attorney Dale Wallace, who organized the project along with Rick Davis, law partner at Wallace Jordan Ratliff & Brandt, explained:
“Coach Bowden’s love for and expertise about World War II, and his use of the leadership principles from great military strategies in his football coaching career, led us to realize that he would be the perfect person to tell these incredibly important stories,” Wallace said.
Bowden was 9 years old growing up in Birmingham when the war started in Europe in 1939. The world-altering event was on the front page of the newspapers every day, and a major topic on the radio and around the dinner table. Bowden grew up listening to the news every day, and managed to include some of the strategies the Allied generals used to win the war in his football career.
“Well, I was raised during World War II; that was the biggest thing back then. When it ended in 1945, I was 15 years old,” Bowden said. “The war affected everything you did, the songs you sang in school, the clothes you wore, the food you ate, and the food you were able to get. Everything was centered around the war. That was the beginning of my life.”
Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from 1976 to 2009. He led FSU to a BSC Championship in 1999 and to 12 Atlantic Coast Conference championships. He is second only to Penn State Coach Joe Paterno with the most wins ever as a football coach.
On that recent cold and windy day in Normandy, Bowden was invited to ride on the Sherman tank that showed up for the filming. Riding on a Sherman may not be difficult for someone young and fit, but the 86-year-old coach climbed on the tank without any trepidation. He was elated with the experience.
“I have never done such a thing in my entire life. It was exhilarating. Riding that tank made me think of the strategies that General (Douglas) MacArthur used to win battles, it also made me think of how tough it was for our men and women back then,” Bowden said.
Watching Bowden reflect on Omaha Beach was nothing short of a spiritual moment.
“It is overwhelming to think of what these young men went through to take over this beach, and how many lives were lost. I can remember when all of these battles took place. I can remember them from the newspapers, from Life magazine, I can remember my family talking about them and having relatives involved overseas,” Bowden said.
“It’s such a privilege for me to come to Europe and see things that are 1,000 and even 1,500 years old. I love to study it and expose it to the public. I hope people will have a renewed respect for our veterans from this show.”
The documentary will start with the invasion at Normandy and end with the Battle of the Bulge, covering all the major points of the war that freed Europe and the world from the tyranny of Adolf Hitler.
Davis explained the purpose of the show.
“We want to tell the stories of these veterans before they are all gone. According to the Veterans Administration, around 500 veterans die every day. This show, ‘Bobby Bowden Goes to War,’ will hopefully memorialize some of their stories,” Davis said.
Much will be learned from the courage and sacrifice of the young men who took over the beaches of Normandy, and who won the war, preserving the very freedom we revel in every day. What might be equally important to learn is the love and passion of Bowden as he tells these stories.
I did breathe a sigh of relief when he got off the tank. When I asked him how it was, he looked at me with the face of a child in a candy store and said:
“Wow! That was something … boy.”
