Faces of Service Line Camp Bowie Blvd
CBDI salutes those who served with Hometown Heroes initiative
On a boulevard named for a World War I military training camp, history has a way of showing up in plain sight.
Drive down Camp Bowie Boulevard in July, and you'll find it staring back at you from high above the traffic lights: the faces of Fort Worth veterans whose lives helped shape not only the nation they served, but the city they called home. Some flew fighter planes over the Pacific. Some crossed oceans in wartime convoys. Others returned home to build businesses, raise families, mentor future generations, and leave their mark on North Texas long after their service ended.
For the third consecutive year, Camp Bowie District, Inc. is bringing those stories into public view through its Hometown Heroes program, a community-driven effort that honors local veterans with commemorative banners displayed along the six-mile corridor of Camp Bowie Blvd.
Beginning this July, the District will install tribute banners on high-visibility light poles throughout the corridor while launching a new digital Wall of Honor, visitors can explore the stories behind the faces.
Among this year's featured veterans is Harrold Owen, a Fort Worth native whose life embodied both military service and entrepreneurial innovation. Owen joined the Army Air Corps at age 17 and flew combat missions in the Pacific Theater during World War II, where he downed five enemy aircraft. After the war, he became a pioneering force in the oil and gas industry, founding several companies and helping establish Fort Worth as a global center for shaped-charge manufacturing. His contributions earned him recognition as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
Another veteran being honored this year left his mark in a very different arena.
Ogle Hubert "Bud" Crew enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in both the European and Pacific theaters during World War II. Returning home as a decorated Staff Sergeant, he devoted his life to the horse industry, becoming an original member of the National Cutting Horse Association and one of the most respected palomino breeders and trainers in Texas. Known as "Mr. Palomino," Crew spent decades mentoring young riders and preserving western traditions.
Stories like Owen's and Crew's are exactly why the Hometown Heroes program exists.
The program is designed not only to recognize military service but also to celebrate the families, friends, and communities that continue to support veterans long after their time in uniform has ended.
For many motorists traveling Camp Bowie Boulevard this summer, the banners will be easy to spot. But the district hopes people will do more than glance upward.
Each banner represents a life lived in service — first to country, then to community. Together, they transform one of Fort Worth's most historic thoroughfares into something more than a commercial corridor. They turn it into a living memorial, a reminder that the city's story is inseparable from the people who helped defend it.
Visit the Wall of Honor - click here
