Today is Veterans Day and I would first like to extend a hand of thanks to all brave souls living or dead who chose service in defense of our country. You are all amazing. In particular, I want to thank my Dad - John C. Howell - who joined the Army at 28 despite having a deferment as oldest son of a farmer. As a member of 3rd Army, 114th Artillery, he received a Bronze Star from Gen. Patton for meritorious service in keeping 3rd Army equipment rolling in the drive to relieve Bastogne. After the war ended, he joined the Army Air Corp., which morphed into the Air Force as the US entered the Korean conflict. In 1952, he met and married my Mother and adopted me. During that time he maintained the ambulance fleet at Lawson Hospital (now Peachtree-Dekalb Airport) in Chamblee, GA. By the time Vietnam became an issue, he had moved from active Air Force service to a position in the Air Force Reserve at Dobbins AFB (Marietta, GA) that came with a civilian technician position as assistant Vehicle Maintenance Superintendent. He retired from both positions just after the excitement in Grenada, but not before moving to a position as First Sergeant of an Aerial Port Squadron, where he qualified as a paratrooper at the age of 64. He then spent the next 13 years in a retirement that included Masonic membership, Yaarab Temple of the Shrine, and was a proud member of the Shrine Clowns. I never knew my father, but my Dad was a hell of a man.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:36:22 +0000
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