At age 97, Reuben Lawrence Bowden of Brundidge just might be or, “probably” is the oldest Pike County veteran.

“I’m blessed to have had the opportunity to serve my country, the greatest country on Earth,” Bowden said. “I didn’t want there to be a war going on and not be a part of it.”

Bowden only had a short time remaining at college then he joined Uncle Sam and counted himself blessed to have the opportunity to serve.”

Bowden said, without hesitation, if he is the oldest living Pike County veteran, he has been richly blessed.

“To have lived this long is a true blessing in itself,” Bowden said. “To have lived this many years has given me more time and more opportunities to be appreciative of the price that has been paid for the freedoms we enjoy today. I don’t know the words to express my feelings of gratitude for all those who have served America and those who (given) their lives. I am blessed and thankful to have been a very small part of it. I would not take anything for the opportunity to serve my country and my fellow man.”

He was first stationed in Okinawa, Japan, but he asked if there was a space for him in Korea and there was.

After serving his country on foreign soil, Bowden came home with a greater understanding of the price that had to be paid for freedom.

“Here at home, and in distant places,  the price has been paid in human lives,” Bowden said. “I don’t know the words to express my love of country and my thankfulness to those who have given their lives so that we continue to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. God bless America.”