The Phenomenal

Dana Bowman

Pilot/Sky Diver

by Jill Raupe, Bryan Texas

Photos by Steve Barker

SFC (Ret.) Dana Bowman is a man on a mission who knows no limits. He can scuba dive, sky dive, bike, dance, mountain climb, water ski and snow ski, to name just a few of his many activities. Sgt. Bowman, 36, is a double amputee and his mission is to educate the public about disabilities, using himself - his own life and his experiences - as an example.

Bowman, a decorated soldier and Green Beret (Special Forces), was a member of the United States Army's elite parachute team, the Golden Knights. He was at a winter training session in Yuma, Arizona where "The Golden Knights and other air teams practice once a year to find out who, and what teams are put together before the show season starts," according to Bowman.

On February 6, 1994, an event happened that would change Bowman's life forever.

Bowman recalls the events: "It was a nice Sunday morning and we were approaching the second jump of the day at around 10:00 a.m. All was good, Jose (Sgt. Aguillon) and I had practiced the jump almost 50 times together, and performed it flawlessly. We were dubbed to be the primer tracking team for the show season," said Bowman.

"There were around 13 people in the Folker C31 friendship, a large cargo aircraft, and we opened both doors in the rear of the aircraft. Two jumpers jumped out and the plane had to do a race track to fly around to the same spot from which the other jumpers had jumped. You had to wait until they jumped out and free flew down to the opening altitude, and then land before another jumper could jump out," Bowman said. "To perform this maneuver, we would stand at the rear of the aircraft, facing the direction of flight, like you sit in a commercial airline. These airplanes have doors that are very big. As you get ready, one person "spots" the aircraft so you get to the right spot on the ground. Now we are next to each other in the rear of the aircraft, and each skydiver has a smoke canister connected to his ankles with a cord that runs from the smoke bracket to his thigh," Bowman explained.

"Jose was spotting and we were on the jump run and doing the count. We did the special hand shake that all the Golden Knights do on every jump. On the count of three we bring our inboard hands towards each other and move them towards the opening of the aircraft and back. On the count of three, two jumpers exit the aircraft together letting the wind drag them away from the plane. At the same time you exit, you pull the line for the smoke and it is on. You look between your legs and make sure you know which way your partner is going and you go the opposite direction, and watch your altitude as you start out at 12,500 feet. You only have 60 seconds on the free fall and you try to get as much horizontal separation as you can, around a mile and a half, and at a pre-designated altitude depending on your weight," Bowman said.

As Bowman and Aguillon were making their dive, called the double diamond track, their bodies began to drift toward one another. Dana noticed the look of distress in Jose's eyes as they approached closer and closer. Bowman's immediate response was to duck his head into his chest. The mid-air collision that happened despite all his efforts to avoid it left him without legs and his teammate without life. The mid-air combined speed of both skydivers was 300 miles-an-hour. Dana's legs were sheared off by his teammate's arm when they crashed into one another. Aguillon landed like a ragdoll and in an unconscious state in a tree, and Dana landed in a nearby parking lot.

Aguillon died later that day from massive internal injuries and Bowman spent several days in a comatose state. The accident left Dana with stumps for legs - one leg was severed above the knee and the other was severed below the knee. After waking from the coma, Bowman immediately began physical therapy and was determined to get back to his previous active lifestyle.

Dana went through a grueling and rigorous, 9 month recovery period of physical therapy and several operations. Plus, he endured the difficulties of new body parts as he attempted to get used to four sets of faulty prosthetic legs in a 6-week period.

In the meantime, however, he never gave up on his determination to continue with his active lifestyle. Other hospital patients and medical staff began to take notice of Dana's undying will and spirit. Bowman began visiting with the other patients, motivating and inspiring them to continue with their personal best recovery.

Bowman's medical bills totaled over $250,000. But Dana didn't allow a pair of defective prosthetics crash his motivation, drive and spirits. Sgt. Bowman, with the help of a New York physical therapist, designed his own excellent pair of legs from high-tech materials, such as titanium and carbon fiber (the same materials that are used in the NASA space shuttle).

In November 1994, Sgt. Bowman made his record setting reenlistment jump with the Golden Knights. Dana is the first double amputee to ever serve in the United States Army.

Dana Bowman, who is the second oldest of a close knit family of five children, grew up in North Ridgeville (Cleveland), Ohio, and joined the Army while still in high school. He is the only person in his family who has attended college. Dana is a divorced father of a 13 year old son.

Dana's mother, Donna Bowman, who attends church weekly, dabbles in stock and sells herbs. She is proud to tell her children that she joined the National Guard, wore combat boots, and qualified expert on M-16 machine gun. Dana's father, Norm Bowman, is a top electrician, and works at the Ford truck plant in Avon, Ohio. Dana's oldest sister has five children which includes a set of twins, and his youngest sister has three children. Bowman's other sister works with their dad at the Ford plant. Dana's brother lives right next door to their parents.

Although Dana was able to re-enlist, the Army gave him mandatory retirement after 16 years of dedicated service. Bowman does not have any hard feelings about the situation and speaks favorably of his time with the military. He credits the Army with teaching him "everything - motivation, drive, teamwork and a sense of direction". Bowman served in Grenada and Panama where he earned the Bronze medal.

But Dana Bowman is no ordinary person. Since his accident, the industrious Bowman spends a large portion of his time traveling across the country making motivational speeches and educating the public about disabilities, visiting with people from all walks of life and inspiring those individuals whose lives he touches.

Dana says the reason he makes these speeches is to "help other people and to be a positive role model." Dana receives "his own gratification and drive" from the presentations that he makes when visiting with people. It is one of Bowman's goals "to inspire as many people as he can in a short amount of time." "Let's show them that they should not treat kids or adults that have a disability any differently, and teach the young kids, so that as they get older there will not be any problems," Bowman said.

This outward bound man has astounded the world with his drive and motivation, inspiration, determination and his will to succeed. Even though Dana is bilateral amputee, he is able to participate in many outdoor physical activities with the aid of his artificial limbs. The only thing that is hard for him to do is to run.

Bowman is a student working on a bachelor's degree with a GPA of 3.7 in Commercial Aviation at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He recently earned his commercial helicopter ratings and has his sea plane rating and single engine rating, both of which he has earned since the accident. Dana has a commercial hot air balloon rating, too. He hopes to be the first double amputee to fly for a commercial airline.

Dana explains the different controls he uses to fly a helicopter and how he uses his whole body to maneuver it, often simultaneously.

"The collective control handle changes the pitch of the blades and uses both your left arm and hand. If it's not turbine, you must control the throttle. It's called throttle correlation with your left hand while at the same time you are using your left arm pulling up and increasing the throttle and just getting off the ground to hover at about 3 feet above ground. If it is turbine, then you go full throttle and the engine adjusts the throttle correlation," said Bowman.

"Well, let's go to the right hand and arm cyclic control that is between your legs and it adjusts the head control moving left, right, front and rear. As you pull up on your collective you adjust the pitch and move the cyclic control in the direction you would like to go. Then you need to use your feet on the rudder controls and watch the gauges, making sure everything is in the green range with the gauges."

When Dana is not in class he can be found volunteering with the DARE program or working with at-risk students as a tracker in the Grand Forks area, and as an attendant care worker for Lutheran Social Services, or giving speeches to local schools and organizations or visiting with hospital patients.

Dana spends a great deal of his time working with other amputees and disabled or physically-challenged people. Bowman does not allow himself an idle moment. The messages that Dana wants folks to hear - "it's not the disability; it's the ability", and "never quit." It's his goal to continue to help others. Bowman's favorite quote: "This shows you that some people never quit." It is a motto that he lives by each and every day. Dana continues to lead the same active lifestyle that he had before the accident.

Dana travels across the country and discusses with his audiences how he beat the odds and came out a winner. He also talks about his goals in life, helping others and understanding life. He feels it is necessary to visit with people and to inspire those individuals with his story of hope, courage, and determination.

Bowman, who speaks fluent in Spanish, has made his motivational presentations at various colleges and universities throughout the U.S., including North Carolina State University, Embry Riddle University, Liberty University, University of North Dakota, Pembroke University, Jamestown College, the Citadel and VMI, to name just a few institutions of higher learning. Also, he has made presentations to elementary and secondary schools, Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs, Boy Scouts, Advocacy Councils, Veterans of Foreign War chapters, Veterans Administration Hospitals, and the Combined Federal Campaign, corporations, military organizations and the list continues to grow.

Dana has made over 450 speeches in the past few years since the accident and has been featured in different newspapers and magazines such as People (July 24,1995), Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest (May 95), Outside (June 95), New Mobility (March 98), and many others which include various military publications. There also have been numerous television programs which have focused on Dana and his story. Some of the programs include "Extra" (aired Feb. 6), The Learning Channel's "How'd They Do That?" (aired March 29), "Amazing But True", Chills, Thrills and Spills", "A Current Affair", Lifetime Cable, NBC "Dateline", "Day and Date", "Ski World TV", and several more in the production stages including The Montel Williams Show (to be aired October 1998).

Currently, Bowman is working on an autobiographical book (working title: "True Faith and Allegiance") and a major motion picture about the accident and the events leading up until present day and turning a tragedy into a triumph. What's in the future for the unstoppable Sgt. Bowman? He will be continuing with his presentations, helping as many people as he can, and flying, of course.

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