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Samuel Robert Owens' obituary

  • wcu_ww2-708.jp2
  • This obituary for Samuel Robert Owens is part of the Samuel Robert Owens Collection. Samuel Robert Owens (1918-1995) was stationed at Cavite Naval Yard in the Philippines when the United States entered World War II. He was a member of the crew of the submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9), which was actively involved in the defense of the Bataan peninsula until the fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942. The majority of the crew of USS Canopus, including Owens, were captured by the Japanese at Corregidor, and became prisoners of war. Owens remained a POW until the end of the war and received the Silver Star and Bronze Star for his service.
  • SAM OWENS WALHALLA - Samuel Robert Owens, 77, of 513 South Lovingood Ave., died Wednesday, May 31, 1995 at the V.A. Medical Center, Asheville, N.C. A native of Glenville, N.C, he was a U.S. Navy World War II veteran with 22 years of service. He was a Japanese prisoner of war, having been captured during the Bataan and Corregidor offensive. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Silver Star and the POWMedal. He was a life member of the Lewis E. Blanchett American Legion Post #124, a member of the American Ex-Prisoners of War organization, the Disabled American Veterans, American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Inc., and the Fleet Reserve Organization Branch#364 of Anderson. He was a Baptist. He was the husband of Jean Patterson Donnan Owens of the home, and the son of the late Steven John and Frances Elvira Alexander Owens. Surviving in addition to his wife are daughters, Frances Olene Owens Mariner of Raleigh, N.C. and Sandra Erin Parker of Sylva, N.C; a stepdaughter,Toni Donnan Swager of Pittsburgh, Pa.; a stepson, Ronald Watts Donnan, III of Oakway; sisters, Helen Winkelmes of Savannah, Ga., Mary Gray of Sebastian, Fla., Nell Edwards of Melbourne, Fla. and Edna Young of Tamassee; and eight grandchildren. Memorial services were at 3 p.m. Friday at the Walhalla First Baptist Church.