One local man is in the United States this week to get a rare and prestigious honour for a recent tour of his own duty.
Photographer and filmmaker David Bowering will be bestowed with the Honorary Knight of the Order of St. Michael by the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA).
When asked what it means to him, the answer was simple.
“Everything,” Bowering said, later adding, “I don’t really know what it means yet. We’ll wait till that thing’s hanging on my neck and I’ll probably have a whole different set of words for it.”
This is the first time that such an award has been given to any photojournalist or Canadian for that matter, he averred. He will be receiving this praise for his participation with the 101st Airborne C Company 6-101 Combat Aviation Brigade, a MEDEVAC (or medical evacuation) unit assigned to assist wounded coalition forces in Afghanistan. He spent seven months there starting in July last year as the primary part of his research into a documentary film project that he is developing.
The Order of St. Michael was established in 1990 to recognize people who have made significant contributions to the promotion of army aviation in ways that stand out to all around them.
“These individuals must also demonstrate the highest standards of integrity and moral character, display an outstanding degree of professional competence, and serve the United States Army Aviation or civilian aviation community with distinction,” explains the AAAA’s website at www.quad-a.org.
The Honorary Knight honour was first established in 2010. It is primarily given to those in service specifically with Army Aviation but it does recognize those soldiers and civilians who work to promote the success of its division.
While filming his documentary, he lived and worked with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne C Company 6-101, flying missions to pick up and treat the wounded on the fields of combat and take them to the forward surgical team on land. He could tell you what indiscriminate fire sounds like and then laugh about how he injured his wrists throwing himself out of his bunk every time the incoming attack alarm sounded while he was trying to rest. The others would joke about which sound was worse: the impact of the rocket shells or of Bowering hitting the ground.
He can also recount the heat and the horrors of war, like soldiers with traumatic brain injuries or triple amputations. People in that last category don’t usually make it, he states, but there are rare exceptions. He was on the crew when British photographer Giles Duley suffered the same fate, but somehow survived. The two still communicate to this day.
His film will show all of the faces of the MEDEVAC personnel and all of their experiences.
“I didn’t do this to get an award or to chase medals. I’m certainly not some major filmmaker. To be recognized for this … it’s huge for me. I just don’t know how huge yet. I thought it was pretty amazing just to be put in for an award whether you get it or not, that they think of you in that light is amazing.”
He has already received some high praise for his work, a lot of which had to do with Bowering as a person, not as a filmmaker. Many of the people he worked with expressed their appreciation for his versatility and willingness to put the camera down when needed, which was all too often.
CPT John Keutmann, pilot and 1st Platoon leader, wrote, “Dave was a crew member to us and he wore multiple hats during his seven-month stay. He was a mechanic, a carpenter, a comedian and assisted the medics on numerous occasions. You always knew that if you needed a hand, Dave would be there no matter what the task.”
SFC Danny Stephenson, a medic with the 101st, also called out his praises.
“Dave, he is a different guy. Dave's footage is definitely going to bring a new light to what MEDEVAC crews go through on a deployment.”
Perhaps the words of Lt. Col. Chuck Rambo are the ones that mean the most, however.
“His actions supporting the Soldiers of Task Force Eagle Assault’s MEDEVAC team have been unparalleled by any other civilian. He has done a tremendous job capturing the story of DUSTOFF units in Afghanistan, but it is his actions when he is not filming that have set him apart from other imbeds and documentary film makers.”
It’s Rambo who will be presenting Bowering with the award during the 101st Airborne Combat Aviation Brigade Ball to be held in Nashville, Tennessee tomorrow.
“It was a huge honour just to be allowed to go do this, just to have somebody say, ‘yeah, we like your idea. You can come and hang with us for whatever length of time you want.’ It’s never been done for this long. Guys were getting two weeks. I got seven months.”
This was his third tour with a MEDEVAC unit in Afghanistan.
Bowering last had a gallery exhibit of his work in the fall of 2011 at the Art Gallery of St. Albert. Afghanistan Through My Lens showed a series of landscapes, portraits and action shots while he was on tour with another MEDEVAC team in places like the Panjwai district in Kandahar province. The land is as scarred as much as the people are. A photo of a child showed one boot facing the opposite direction, a macabre reminder of how so many people have lost limbs.
He has high hopes for his documentary and he sees this medal as a good sign that there is official approval for these images to be revealed to the world.
“I think it’s going to open a window into what nobody really seems to get a chance to see. They’ve been kind enough to allow me inside their lives. I’ve not seen any footage like this … ever, and I’ve watched every single documentary I could find on MEDEVAC.
“Some of it’s very sad and some of it’s very traumatic. There’s some hilarious footage. I think it will give a good understanding of what these men and women go through, and why some of them – why a lot of them – don’t come back as the same people. Maybe this will allow people to understand a little bit more of why they don’t. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
