Rona & Howard Jr.
Retired from the service, Howard will spend the next fourteen years working for the government as a member of the Depart of Veterans Affairs in San Antonio. As such he is actively involved in a variety of military organizations, attending a myriad of commencement ceremonies, and annually participating on March 25th in the honoring of the MOH winners at Arlington National Cemetery on National Medal of Honor Day (Howard stands beside 44th United States President Barack Obama as the president lays a wreath at the Tomb of Unknown Soldiers at his last time at the event in 2009). As a member of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, he becomes a good friend of the organization's president, Vietnam MOH winner, Sergeant First Class Gary Lee Littrell (a winner for a four day action in April of 1970 near Dak Seang Special Forces Camp in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in which he takes over the camp's defense when the battalion command structure above him are all killed or wounded in the initial attack on the base) when Howard is the group's vice-president. Leading the way, together, the men and other MOH winners begin a yearly ritual of giving encouragement to troops stationed at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the colonel ends his speeches by stating, "Never surrender your weapons, and face the enemy!" Already suffering the ravages of cancer, Howard tells no one until in 2009 he is too weak and in pain to continue going overseas or giving speeches, so he checks himself into a San Antonio hospital and lets his family know his end is drawing near. Living out his final weeks while staying at the St. Catherine Center, a hospice in Waco, Howard often pulls one of his trademark pranks and sometimes vanishes from the premises, slipping across the street to a local bar called the "Crying Shame" for a little light conversation and a cup of coffee. As word of Howard's condition spreads, veterans from the the Special Forces and MOH Society comrades start showing up to pay their last respects, so many so that his daughter Melissa takes on the duty of being the gatekeeper for access to the fading warrior who with each visitor, pulls himself upright in bed and looks his friends squarely in the eyes as they chat with him before collapsing again upon their departure, and from his death bed, Howard uses the strength he has left to model the fresh Class A uniform Fort Hood has provided him with that he will be buried in, along with decorating it with the medals he wishes to be buried with on his chest, and demands that he be in his freshly polished parachute jump boots (he also requests to be buried in the 7-Alpha Section of Arlington Cemetery where from his grave, the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldiers can be seen ... a portion of the park that is already full, but with the help of Texas congressman, Chet Edwards, a member of the Arlington National Cemetery's appropriation committee, room is found for the MOH winner ... resting in peace, Howard can be found at Section 7A, Site 138 of the cemetery). His body finally shuts down two days before Christmas due to pancreatic cancer and on December 23, 2009, at the age of 70, one of the greatest warriors in American military history passes, survived by his four children (Denicia, Melissa, Rosslyn, and Robert Jr.) and four grandchildren (Victoria, Holley, Isabella, and Robert III). On February 22, 2010, Colonel Howard's full military honors funeral finally takes place on a cold day with ten inches of snow on the ground ... the weather however does nothing to stop over 350 mourners (Lt. General John F. Mulholland, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command will be daughter Melissa's escort during the occasion, and there will be a flag-draped coffin drawn by horses, a gun salute, and flags presented to the family from a Special Forces detail along with the presentation of specially painted portrait of Howard commissioned by the Airborne Association of San Antonio) ) from paying their respects to the colonel at a ceremony that moves from the Memorial Chapel at Fort Myer to Arlington, Virginia.
Howard's Resting Place
Mostly invisible as he fights in an unpopular war and at locales where Americans are not suppose to be, Howard's accomplishments are too grand to keep totally repressed. In four tours of duty in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Howard will receive eight Purple Hearts (though he is wounded fourteen times, the difference in the two totals is because Howard does not deem some of his hurts to be worth mentioning officially), the Congressional Medal of Honor (he is nominated for the award three different times), two Distinguished Service Crosses, a Silver Star, four Legion of Merit awards, two Bronze Stars, four Army Commendation Medals for Heroism, three Air Medals, a Combat Infantryman Badge, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, a Joint Service Achievement Medal, an Army Achievement Medal, four Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, three Army Forces Expeditionary Medals, a Vietnam Service Medal (with three stars for three campaigns), the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon (with two devices), an Army Service Ribbon, an Army Overseas Service Ribbon, five different unit citations, and a number of foreign awards that include the Republic of Vietnam Wound Medal, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stars, and with Palm, and fourteen badges. It is the highest amount of military honors to go to a single serviceman since WWII (and is actually more than were awarded to the legendary Alvin York or Audie Murphy), are the most to be won by a Green Beret, and perhaps, are the most to ever come to any American soldier. And it all comes on combat missions in which Howard is operating behind enemy lines, is greatly outnumbered, and will be shot as spy if he is captured. And there will be other honors too ... in 2013, Fort Campbell, Kentucky honors him by naming its 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) headquarters after the soldier, there is a plaque honoring Howard outside the entrance to Howard Hall (also named after the man), at Camp Mackall's Rowe Training Facility in North Carolina there is now classroom designated as Howard Hall, posthumously, in 2010, he will be inducted into the U.S. Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014, the colonel is chosen to receive that year's Bull Simons Award (named for Colonel Arthur "Bull" Simons, leader of the raid on the North Vietnamese prison camp, Son Tay) for an annual winner that embodies the skills, values, and true spirit of a Special Operations warrior, and also in 2014, Howard is honored in his home state of Alabama when it dedicates the Colonel Robert L. Howard state Veterans Home in Pell City in his name, in 2019, he is posthumously inducted into the USSOCOM Commando Hall of Fame, and in 2021, Howard's name is placed on the Special Operations Camp in Korea, along with having a plaque put on the outside of the headquarters building at Camp Humphreys, and in 2016, he will have his story told by Thomas Dale Smith in the book "The Greatest Hero America Never Knew: The Extraordinary Life of Robert Lewis Howard, Professional Soldier, along with having the tale told again with more detail in author Stephen L. Moore's 2024 book, "Beyond The Call Of Duty: The Life Of Colonel Robert Howard, America's Most Decorated Green Beret," and in May of 2023, Howard will be featured on the podcast, "Badass of the Week" in a tale called "One Man Army."
More important (to Howard certainly) though then all the medals, is what the men who fought alongside of him thought about the man (and what his daughter thought too):
*A SOG veteran will write ... "Bob Howard just plain refused to be afraid. He commanded such respect due to his abilities, his courage, and he was always ready to go. You could not hold him back. For those of us running on the ground, just the knowledge that if you got into trouble, if you were wounded, left somewhere in the jungle, that Bob Howard would climb on a helicopter and do whatever it took, no matter the risk to himself, and come to get you was reassuring. That was the kind of guy Bob Howard was. You could count on him 100 percent no matter what."
*SOG medic Joe Parnar ... "Bob Howard had an impeccable combat record. I figured if anyone would know what to do if we got hit, it was Howard. I felt more secure being near his area."
*Sergeant Billy Greenwood ... "Everybody in the outfit, above and below, had the utmost respect for him."
*Sergeant First Class Joe Messer ... "He seemed to always be looking for a fight. It was just his nature."
*Staff Sergeant Larry Melton White ... "I never saw him show any fear whatsoever. He would do anything you wanted him to do. You couldn't ask for a better guy on a team. He was the only man I'd ever seen whose pulse rate never got up. He was just cool, calm, and collected."
*Sergeant First Class Johnnie Gilreath Jr. ... "He ran toward the enemy at all times."
*Captain Gene McCarley ... "He was all man!"
*Sergeant Major Joe J. Walker ... "Bob Howard was a shining example of what every Special Operations operator should be."
*Green Beret Steve Roche ... "SFC Howard was like a one-man Army, and his actions were of the highest caliber of bravery."
*Lt. Colonel Thomas W. Jaeger ... "Bob Howard was a guy that I would want on any mission, whether it was a recon team, a platoon, or a company-sized mission. He felt at home there. Regardless of what the mission was, there was no fear. He was always the first to volunteer. Whenever we were attacked, he was always in the thick of it. He was a phenomenal guy, because his lack of fear kept him in control."
*Spec-4 John Plaster ... "He looked much like Clint Eastwood playing Dirty Harry. But Howard wasn't playing. Never once did I ever know him to do anything that solely benefited himself. He wouldn't try to promote himself.He never put himself in positions where he'd get admiration. The man was always supportive of the troops and primarily supportive of the mission. "
*First Lieutenant Terry Hameric ... "At all times, Sergeant Howard was extremely calm in the face of the enemy. He kept us constantly informed of the enemy and friendly situation. It was only through his courageous and determined efforts that the air strikes were successful and the majority of the platoon was saved."
*Recon Green Beret Louis J. Deseta ... Bob Howard and his deeds were what helped a lot of new guys not to be scared when they joined the company. We trusted that if we got in trouble across the fence, Howard would come after us.
*Specialist Fourth Class Bob Gron ... "He limped among us, issuing orders and directing our fire with determination.
*Sergeant Jerome Griffin ... "Through leadership, determination, and devotion to duty, Sergeant Howard saved the platoon. Even though wounded himself and in great pain, he didn't stop to administer first aid to himself nor would allow any of us to help him. He told us there were others we could help."
*Sergeant John St. Martin ... "One of Bob's last acts on his tour of duty was to come visit me while I was fighting to survive. I was pretty bad off, and I struggled to understand his words, but Bob had tears in his eyes as he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Bob was the epitome of a professional soldier warrior. His mission was priority. He led from the front, and he cared about his men. He expressed confidence as he taught us younger people things to keep us alive."
*RT Nevada 1-0, Dan Ster ... "When there was a dangerous mission to go on, he would want to go on it because he was someone who had been through it and done it. It was in his DNA. This was what he was supposed to do. He was a man of action. He didn't like to sit around. When it came time to do something, he always stepped up to the plate. By force of personality, he dragged a lot of people with him, and he made a lot of people better people."
*First Lieutenant Steve Hatch ... "Howard was a soldier's soldier. If you weren't a hundred percent on everything you did, he had no use for you. He could be very demanding. But if you were gung ho and did your job, he was very easy to get along with."
*MOH winner Gary Littrell ... "When he was talking to the troops, it was leadership. It was positive motivation. It was as if he was their colonel. They really appreciated him being there. Toughest man I ever met in my life. He was a soldier's soldier."
*Daughter Melissa Howard Gentsch ... "He lived through things he should not have survived. One of his favorite little phrases seems to fit with that: 'I ran with the devil, but God always had my back."
Howard At The Dedication Of The Vietnam
Memorial In Washington D.C.
A modern-day Spartan if there ever was one, Howard will sum himself up when a visitor to his office noticed there was only one thing there, a picture of Texas WWII Army hero and MOH winner, Audie Leon Murphy with a set of Murphy's dog tags attached to the picture's frame (given to Howard by Murphy's family). Pointing to the picture, Howard states, "You know, I'm just a soldier. That man right there was a hero." A special, special individual, it seems like this country has always been blessed to have folks like the colonel around when they have been most needed ... thank you for your service, Sir. Well done, and rest in peace!
Murphy & Howard
Robert Lewis Howard - July 11, 1939 to December 23, 2009 -
PROFESSIONAL SOLDIER
Howard Special Operations Badge