Career
Mower joined the Army from his birth city of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and by November 3, 1944 was serving as a Sergeant in Company A, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. During an attack against Japanese positions that day, near Capoocan, Leyte, in the Philippines, Mower took command of his squad after the leader was killed and led his men from an exposed position despite being seriously wounded. He was killed during the battle and, on February 11, 1946, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Mower was buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Taguig City, the Philippines.
In 1947, United States Ship Tryon (APH-1) was reconfigured and placed in service as the Mower. The Mower last operated as a dependent transport shuttling between San Francisco and Pearl Harbor until she was inactivated in 1954.