Doug Clower was born on November 30, 1930, in Belzoni, Mississippi. He entered the Naval Pre-flight program in Ocotober 1955 and was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy on March 7, 1956, receiving his Naval Aviator wings in August 1957. Clower's first assignment was as an instructor pilot at NAAS Corry Field, Florida, from August 1957 to September 1958. He then joined VF-174, the Replacement Air Group at NAS Cecil Field, Florida, in September 1958, and was assigned as Maintenance Officer of VF-84 at NAS Oceana, Virginia, from March 1959 to February 1962. Clower attended the U.S. Navy Post-graduate school from February 1962 to July 1964, and then served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) from July 1964 to July 1966. CDR Clower served as Operations Officer with VF-151 from July 1966 until he was forced to eject over North Vietnam on November 19, 1967. He was immediately captured and spent the next 1,942 days in captivity. Clower was released during Operation Homecoming on March 14, 1973, and after hospitalization was assigned to VF-21 from December 1973 to October 1974. His final assignment was with the Commander of the Fighter Airborne Early Warning Wing for the Pacific Fleet, San Diego, California, where he served from October 1974 until his retirement from the Navy on October 31, 1975. Doug Clower died on October 3, 2010, and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont, Texas. His widow, Vivian Maurine Brown Clower (1932-2012), is buried with him.

His 1st (of 2) Silver Star Citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while interned as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam on 24 November 1967. His captors, completely ignoring international agreements, subjected him to extreme mental and physical cruelties in an attempt to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda purposes. Through his resistance to those brutalities, he contributed significantly toward the eventual abandonment of harsh treatment by the North Vietnamese, which was attracting international attention. By his determination, courage, resourcefulness, and devotion to duty, he reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Naval Service and the United States Armed Forces.