Long out of uniform, vet continued serving

[David]

By MARY SWIFT
P-I COLUMNIST

He was a small man who wore cheerfulness with easy grace, his upbeat demeanor so contagious few could resist that smile.

And if you want a role model for living a remarkable life, Claude Owens is your man.

Owens, of Seattle, died Feb. 22 at the Seattle Veterans Hospital at 90.

I never knew him. But in the days since his death I've heard plenty about the veteran of the Normandy invasion.

Back then, the military was segregated. Owens, an African American, served with an all-black, combat engineering company stationed in Virginia when the U.S. entered World War II.

"He was peeling potatoes in the mess hall when the war was announced," says Ed Rasmussen, a longtime friend and fellow member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Skyway Post 9430.

"Back then, the colored soldiers weren't allowed to carry guns," Rasmussen says.

Brutal necessity blurred segregation's artificial lines.

As Owens' unit approached a landing at Utah Beach, they were told to "pick up the guns and ammo lying on the beach -- there were plenty lying around -- and start shooting. After that, he always had a gun," Rasmussen says.

Later, Owens said, "black and white came together on the beaches of France."

After Normandy, Owens was assigned to the Red Ball Express.

"They ran supply trucks as fast as they could trying to keep up with the troops as they moved across France," Rasmussen says. "They moved gas and ammo, and whatever supplies they needed -- just got in and put the pedal to the floor and went."

Owens worked in a meat-packing plant and in an ice cream plant in the decades after the war. In the early 1970s, he and his wife, Fredericka, who predeceased him, moved to Seattle.

"He'd come on a visit and fallen in love with the place," says Jewel Smith, their only child.

In 1991, Owens became a volunteer at the Seattle Veterans Hospital. His duties ranged from working the information desk or the canteen to delivering mail, filling ice machines and escorting patients to appointments. A volunteer chaplain, he also prayed with patients and their families.

A favorite of patients and staff, he was a man on the move -- often, even into his 80s, doing his rounds on roller skates.

"His message was: Don't just sit there. Get moving," Rasmussen says.

Owens logged 31,000 volunteer hours at the hospital over 16 years, Jeri Rowe, the hospital's director of public affairs, estimated.

"He was a fixture. He was here from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. five days a week. On the weekends, he volunteered at nursing homes," she says.

"Everybody knew him. He was an amazing man -- bigger than life, really," Rowe says. "He was the most optimistic, cheerful man I ever met."

Hospital employees created an official title -- "Ambassador of Good Deeds" -- especially for Owens.

He appeared on the cover of Jet magazine and was named the state VFW chaplain of the year four times.

In 2003, at 87, he received a National Volunteer of the Year Award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Owens flew to Cincinnati to receive the honor. Rasmussen and other VFW representatives were waiting for him at the airport. Half an hour after his flight landed, still no Owens.

Rasmussen, worried that Owens missed the plane, asked one of the stragglers coming through the airport if he'd seen a man on the plane wearing a VFW hat.

"Oh, yes," the man told him. "He's helping a child get in a wheelchair."

A celebration of Owens' life is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon today at the Mission Baptist Church, 3902 S. Ferdinand St., Seattle. Burial, with full military honors, is scheduled at 1 p.m. at Tahoma National Cemetery in Maple Valley.

He'll be buried in his World War II uniform, one he wore with pride every Veterans Day.

"When I go to glory, I want this to be on my body," Owens once told a reporter.

Renton's Bernie Moskowitz will play taps at the burial.

"I wouldn't miss it," he says. "I honestly think everyone who ever met Claude Owens was better for it. There aren't very many people in this world you can say that about."

Jewel Smith agrees.

"He was a walking angel," she says. "He helped everyone."

[sn-e3]

God bless you Claude you just joined alot of good company now you just rest your work down here is done.

[SparrowHawk62]

God bless him and great him with open arms!

[Robert Ryan]

What a wonderful person, someone to follow in their footsteps RIP in Claude. You have served you country and fellow man well.

[Packo]

He'll be a welcome addition to all the other hero's in Heaven.

A big salute to a real Hero!

Claude, say "hey" to my daddy for me.

Pack

[Jerry D]

God bless and RIP Claude Owens