James H. Howard
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James Howell Howard (April 8, 1913 – March 18, 1995) was a general in the United States Air Force and the only fighter pilot in the
European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor — the United States military's highest decoration. Howard was an ace in two operational theaters during World War II, with six kills with the Flying Tigers of the
American Volunteer Group The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The only unit to actually see combat was the 1st AVG, pop ...
(AVG) in the Pacific and six kills over Europe with the United States Air Force. CBS commentator
Andy Rooney Andrew Aitken Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program '' 60 Minutes'' from 1978 to 201 ...
, then a wartime reporter for ''Stars and Stripes'', called Howard's exploits "the greatest fighter pilot story of World War II". In later life, Howard was a successful businessman, author, and airport director.


Early life

Born on April 8, 1913, in Canton, China, where his American parents lived at the time while his
ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...
father was teaching eye surgery there, Howard returned with his family to
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, in 1927. After graduating from John Burroughs School in St. Louis, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College in
Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a popul ...
, in 1937, intending to follow his father into medicine. Shortly before graduation, however, Howard decided that the life of a
Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
was more appealing than six years of medical school and internship, and he entered the United States Navy as a naval aviation cadet.


United States Navy service

Howard began his flight training in January 1938 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, earning his wings a year later. In 1939, he was assigned as a U.S. Navy pilot aboard the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
, based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In June 1941, he left the Navy to become a P-40 fighter pilot with the
American Volunteer Group The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The only unit to actually see combat was the 1st AVG, pop ...
(AVG), the famous Flying Tigers, in Burma. He flew 56 missions and was credited with shooting down six Japanese airplanes.


United States Army Air Forces

After the Flying Tigers were disbanded on July 4, 1942, Howard returned to the U.S. and was commissioned a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
. In 1943, he was promoted to the rank of
major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
and given command of the
356th Fighter Squadron The 356th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force fighter squadron. It is assigned to the 354th Fighter Wing, being stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. It was reactivated in 2019 to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35 Li ...
in the
354th Fighter Group The 354th Fighter Group was an element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force during World War II. The unit was known as the Pioneer Mustang Group and was the first to fly the P-51B Mustang in combat. The group served as bombe ...
, based in the United Kingdom. On January 11, 1944, Howard flew his P-51 unaccompanied into some 30 Luftwaffe fighters that were attacking a formation of American
B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
bombers over Oschersleben, Germany. For more than a half-hour, Howard defended the heavy bombers of the
401st Bomb Group 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...
against the swarm of Luftwaffe fighters, repeatedly attacking the enemy and shooting down as many as six. Even after Howard's P-51 ran out of ammunition, he continued to dive on enemy airplanes. The leader of the bomber formation later reported, "For sheer determination and guts, it was the greatest exhibition I've ever seen. It was a case of one lone American against what seemed to be the entire Luftwaffe. He was all over the wing, across and around it. They can't give that boy a big enough award." The following week, the Army Air Forces held a press conference in London at which Major Howard described the attack to reporters, including the BBC, the Associated Press, CBS reporter Walter Cronkite, and
Andy Rooney Andrew Aitken Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program '' 60 Minutes'' from 1978 to 201 ...
, then a reporter for ''Stars and Stripes''. The story was a media sensation, prompting articles such as "Mustang Whip" in the ''
Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'', "Fighting at 425 Miles Per Hour" in ''
Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
'', and "One Man Air Force" in ''True'' magazine. "An attack by a single fighter on four or five times his own number wasn't uncommon," wrote a fellow World War II fighter pilot in his postwar memoirs of Howard's performance, "but a deliberate attack by a single fighter against thirty-plus enemy fighters without tactical advantage of height or surprise is rare almost to the point of extinction." The following month, Howard was promoted to
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
and in June 1944, he was presented the Medal of Honor by General Carl Spaatz for his January 11 valor. That same month, Howard helped direct fighter plane cover for the Allies' Normandy landings on D-Day.


Air Force

In January 1945, Howard was promoted to colonel and assigned as base commander of Pinellas Army Airfield (now
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy a ...
) in Florida. With the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate service in 1947, then-Colonel Howard was transferred to the Air Force. In 1948, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the
U.S. Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...
, commanding the Air Force Reserve's 96th Bombardment Group.


Later years

As a civilian after the war, Howard was Director of Aeronautics for
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, managing
Lambert Field St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary commercial airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the state of ...
while maintaining his military status as a brigadier general in the
United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...
. He later founded Howard Research, a systems engineering business, which he eventually sold to
Control Data Corporation Control Data Corporation (CDC) was a mainframe and supercomputer firm. CDC was one of the nine major United States computer companies through most of the 1960s; the others were IBM, Burroughs Corporation, DEC, NCR, General Electric, Honeywel ...
. He married Mary Balles in 1948 in a military wedding ceremony. In later years, they were divorced and Howard then married Florence Buteau. In the 1970s, Howard retired to
Belleair Bluffs Belleair Bluffs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,031 at the 2010 census. Geography Belleair Bluffs is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of whic ...
in Pinellas County, Florida. In 1991, he wrote an autobiography, ''Roar of the Tiger'', chiefly devoted to his wartime experiences. On January 11, 1994, the 50th anniversary of the Oschlersleben attack, the Board of County Commissioners in Pinellas County proclaimed "General Howard Day" and presented him with a plaque. A permanent exhibit honoring General Howard was also unveiled in the terminal building of the county's
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy a ...
. Another exhibit paying tribute to Howard was subsequently dedicated at his high school alma mater, John Burroughs School in St. Louis. On January 27, 1995, Howard made his last public appearance when he was guest of honor at the annual banquet of the
West Central Florida Council West Central Florida Council was the former Boy Scouts of America Council serving Pinellas County and west Pasco County in Florida, between 1917–2016. It merged with Gulf Ridge Council to form the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council on May 1, 201 ...
of the Boy Scouts of America, in
Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...
. He died six weeks later at the nearby Bay Pines Veterans Hospital, survived by two sisters. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery Howard Avenue in the Market Common District of
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...
, is named in tribute to Howard, who was a commander of the relocated 354th Fighter-Day Group at nearby Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. There is a memorial marker with photos and an inscription in Market Common Valor Memorial Garden at the intersection of Hackler Street and Howard Avenue: .


Summary of aircraft destroyed

::All information on enemy aircraft damaged and destroyed is from ''Stars and Bars''.


Military awards

Howard received the following awards:


Medal of Honor citation

The citation accompanying the Medal of Honor awarded to Lieutenant Colonel James H. Howard on 5 June 1944, by Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz reads:


See also

*
List of Medal of Honor recipients The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their ...
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II This is a list of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II. The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recip ...


References

:


Further reading

* Freeman, Roger A., Airfields of the ninth, then and now, After the Battle *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, James 1913 births 1995 deaths People from Guangzhou Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army Air Forces Medal of Honor recipients World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Tripod Flying Tigers United States Army Air Forces officers United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II American World War II flying aces Pomona College alumni United States Naval Aviators American expatriates in China