TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - The “busyness” of the Combat Center seemed to subside as installation personnel paused to honor a fallen Marine Feb. 15, during a memorial service for Cpl. Donald Fowler III at the Protestant Chapel.
Fowler, from Santee, Calif., and a Marine with the Staff Judge Advocate office, passed away Feb. 7 after a vehicle roll-over on Twentynine Palms Highway.
“Today I am memorializing one of my Marines,” said Col. Alex Peterson, the Combat Center’s staff judge advocate. “My respect for Corporal Fowler was deep and strong. I will remember him as that Marine my NCOs respected, taking care of my Marines and embodying excellence.”
Many people sat solemnly in the pews, looking at a military cross or watching a slide show made by Fowler’s family, depicting him as a young boy growing through the years into a Marine, husband and a father.
Fowler’s friends gave their condolences to his family and shared stories of good times with the late corporal.
“He was a Marine, a warrior at the truest sense,” Master Gunnery Sgt. Mark Braun, the legal chief at the Staff Judge Advocate’s office. “He truly had a great sense of humor. He had a devotion to the Corps and fellow Marines. From his Marines, there are only good memories. He had a big heart, and we are going to miss him very much.”
Fowler was also remembered by several friends as a good leader, one who took care of his Marines, a “funny guy,” and a great friend.
“I imagine Corporal Fowler executed his final set of PCS orders,” Peterson said. “As we speak, he is in-processing with his new unit. Like an NCO, he is probably walking around to see how he can make his new unit better.”
Fowler is survived by his wife, Amber, and his four-year-old daughter, Talyn.