Second Lieutenant Lowder was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with the 428th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 474th Fighter Bomber Group. On 19 March 1953, he was flying from Itazuke, Japan to Kunsan Airfield (K-8) in South Korea. The aircraft encountered bad weather and crashed into Suksong-san Mountain near Hyopchon, South Korea.

Lowder was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.