Owens served in the US Navy during World War II from January 1943 to August 1946, discharged from the
Office of Naval Intelligence. He then obtained a degree from
Tulane University. In March 1947, Owens started work as an investigator for the
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Cases included the
Hiss-
Chambers Case, e.g., investigating witness and alleged Soviet spy
Julian Wadleigh. {{cite book {{cite book {{cite news In 1957, Owens moved with his family to Southern California. In 1959, he started work with Townsend Engineering in nearby
Santa Ana, California, and led marketing and sales of its "Identi-Kit," a visual identification system for law enforcement. He retired in 1982. ==Personal life and death==