Ross Henry Trower (February 22, 1922 – October 31, 2014) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

and

Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy (CHC) is the highest-ranking military chaplain in the United States Navy and head of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. As part of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Department of ...

Biography

Trower was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He attended

Carthage College Carthage College is a private college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It enrolls 2,600 full-time and 200 part-time students. Carthage awards bachelor's degrees with majors in more th ...

(B.A., 1943), the

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, Illinois. LSTC is a member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of eleven area seminaries ...

(M.Div., 1945) and

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

( S.T.M., 1954). On August 20, 1944, Trower married Margaret E. Doering, with whom he would have four children. He was ordained for the Illinois Synod of the

Lutheran Church in America The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was an American and Canadian Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. It was headquartered in New York City and its publishing house was Fortress Press. The LCA's immigrant heritage came mostly fr ...

on February 21, 1945. He died on October 31, 2014. Trower was interred with his wife Margaret (October 13, 1920 – August 2, 2001) at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Career

Trower joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1945 and began training at

Camp Perry Camp Perry is a National Guard training facility located on the shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio near Port Clinton. In addition to its regular mission as a military training base, Camp Perry also boasts the second largest outdoor rifle range ...

. Afterwards, he was assigned to

Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...

. Later, he tended to

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

Camp Allen Camp Allen, is a small United States Marine Corps base in Norfolk, Virginia, a satellite of the Naval Station Norfolk. In 1942 the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks (now NAVFAC) wanted the first Seabee training center close to an existing Nav ...

. Trower went on to serve aboard the with the

United States Atlantic Fleet United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

. After serving at

Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...

, Trower was deployed with the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...

to serve in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Afterwards, he was assigned to the

2nd Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina ...

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, and its ...

. Trower was later stationed at the Navy Mine Depot, Yorktown and aboard the . During his time on the Canberra, Trower entertained

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

during a trip to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

. From there, he served aboard the and at

Naval Hospital Oakland Naval Hospital Oakland, also known as Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, was a U.S. naval hospital located in Oakland, California that opened during World War II (1942) and closed in 1996 as part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure program. The site ...

. After being assigned to

Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

and returning for a time to Naval Station Great Lakes, Trower was deployed with the

1st Marine Aircraft Wing The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan. Activ ...

to serve in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in 1968. Later, he assisted returning prisoners of war. After serving as Fleet Chaplain of the

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

, Trower was Chief of Chaplains from 1979 until his retirement in 1983. Awards he received during his career include the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

US Navy 040426-N-1993R-001 Five former U

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trower, Ross 1922 births 2014 deaths Carthage College alumni Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago alumni 20th-century American Lutheran clergy United States Navy chaplains Military personnel from St. Louis United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Harvard Divinity School alumni United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Chiefs of Chaplains of the United States Navy Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal People from Springfield, Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery