Scope and Contents

The collection consists of approximately 14 linear feet of materials documenting the life of Colonel Terry E. Rowe. The materials cover his early family life, his 30 year career in the U.S. Army (including his service in Germany, Vietnam, and Puerto Rico), his post-military career, and his time teaching in Vietnam after his retirement. The materials document Colonel Rowe's three tours in Vietnam: 1st as an ARVN advisor in Vietnam (August 1964-January 1967); 2nd as an Operations Officer with the 2nd Battalion, 196th Infantry Brigade (August 1968-August 1969), and 3rd as a District Senior Advisor (December 1970-May 1972).

Subjects include Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development (CORDS) and Village Self-Development. The materials include scrapbooks; photographs and images; slides; family history (biographies, genealogical information); articles and clippings; memos and correspondence; booklets; military orders; certificates; event invitations, schedules, programs, and planning documents; award and promotion citations; yearbooks; newspapers; periodicals; maps; records re: the 1960 Prix Le Clerc matches; bulletins; artifacts; guides, checklists, SOPs, and handbooks; song lyrics; immigration records re: Colonel Rowe's Vietnamese wife and her children; Christmas, greeting, and post cards; fact sheets and briefings; daily journals; propaganda leaflets; essays and academic papers; efficiency reports; unit histories; rosters; flyers and pamphlets; meeting minutes; letters of instruction; workbooks; speeches; training materials; posters; evaluation and other reports; newsletters; medical evaluation board proceedings; medical records; service records; jump logs; microfiche; and books. Also included is an oral history interview conducted with Colonel Rowe in August 2020.

The materials are dated predominately 1944-1946, 1953-1989, 1998-2007, and 2015-2018.

Biographical / Historical

Colonel Terry E. Rowe (9 November 1935-2 November 2023) was born in Alameda, California. He graduated from James Lick High School in San Jose, California in 1953 and then attended San Jose State College, where he joined the ROTC program. He graduated with a BA degree in Social Science in 1958. He was commissioned into the U.S. Army and went to Germany serving with the 54th Infantry, 4th Armored Division as a 4.2" mortar platoon leader and later Company XO. In 1960, he participated in the VII Corps Prix Le Clerc marksmanship championship, where he won first prize as a member of the 54th Infantry automatic rifle team. He then became Commander of A Company, 1st Rifle Battalion, 54th Infantry, 4th Armored Division stationed at Wharton Barracks in Heilbronn, Germany. He completed his Military Assistance Training Advisory Course (MATA) at the Special Warfare Center at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina in 1964.

Rowe served three tours in Vietnam. During his first tour (August 1964-January 1967), Colonel Rowe served first with Advisory Team 1 as Advisor to 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) from August 1964-June 1965, and then as Advisor to Tactical Operation Center, 1st ARVN Division from June 1965-January 1967.

Between his first and second tour of Vietnam (1967-1968), Colonel Rowe was assigned as a test officer with the U.S. Army Infantry Test Board at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he was responsible for testing the tripartite 81mm mortar and the TOW anti-tank missile. In 1968, he volunteered to return to Vietnam with the 196th Infantry Brigade, as the unit was operating near Hue where his Vietnamese wife and her children were residing.

During his second tour (August 1968-August 1969), he served as Operations Officer with the 2nd Battalion, 196th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Division (Americal) at LZ Ross, Que Son District, Quang Nam Province. Between his second and third tour of Vietnam (1969-1970), Colonel Rowe studied at the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.

During his third tour of Vietnam (December 1970-May 1972), Colonel Rowe served as the District Senior Advisor for Dien Ban District in Quang Nam Province.

Having applied to graduate school at the University of Nevada Reno while still serving his third tour in Vietnam, Colonel Rowe began working on an MA degree in History upon his return to the United States. He graduated in 1974 and also completed the Foreign Area Officer course at the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance at Ft. Bragg that same year. In 1975, Colonel Rowe was assigned to the Army General Staff at the Pentagon. From 1977-1979, Colonel Rowe served as Commander of the 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry, 8th Mechanized Infantry Division at Weisbaden, Germany. Then in 1979, Colonel Rowe was assigned to V Corps Headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany - first as Chief of the Training Division and then as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff (G3).

From 1980-1984, Colonel Rowe served as Commander of western Puerto Rico colleges' Army ROTC programs as well as Professor of Military Science at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. From 1984-1988, Colonel Rowe served as President of the U.S. Army Physical Evaluation Board at Letterman Army Medical Center at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. He oversaw the board's adjudication of mentally and physically impaired soldiers referred by army hospitals in the Pacific Theater and along the west coast of the United States.

In 1988, Colonel Rowe retired from active military service after a 30 year career. He began a civilian career in financial planning, working first as an account executive with Dean Witter and then as Associate Vice President with Morgan Stanley. Rowe returned to Vietnam from 2001-2007 to work as a teacher, where he taught courses on business and the stock market, as well as advanced English as a Second Language (ESL).