Some men are born to great honors. Others have honors trust upon them ... whether they want it or not.
Temple Bowley falls into that latter category. The Dallas resident planned a family vacation the day JFK didn’t make it out of town alive. Bowley went about his business when the fates intervened and he found the lifeless Dallas police Officer J.D. Tippit lying next to his squad car in Oak Cliff.
Bowley slid into the police car and notified the dispatcher of the downed officer, and police swarmed the area, eventually capturing Lee Harvey Oswald at the Texas Theatre.
Bowley wanted to put the matter behind him and just live his life. For 47 years he managed to do pretty much just that until recent days. The Dallas Morning News ran a story about Bowley in Sunday’s edition, and Monday at 2 p.m., Police Chief David Brown will honor Bowley at DPD headquarters with a Citizens Certificate of Merit.
Bowley’s sentiments, as quoted in the newspaper article, about having his photo taken on the spot he found Tippit might apply to the certificate.
"Maybe this will finally be the end of it," he said.
Bruce Felps owns and operates East Dallas Times, an online community news outlet serving the White Rock Lake area. He wonders how the police could broadcast a suspect’s description just minutes after the assassination when no one had the first freakin’ clue as to who fired the shots and from where. Hmmm …
