HOWARD-JIMMIE

Excerpts from article published in San Diego Union-Tribune on 11/10/2013:

SSGT Jimmie Earl Howard was 37, married and the father of six children when he left to fight in the Vietnam War.  His wife later said that she understood that “he was just a true Marine.”  Assigned to Company C, 1^st Battalion, 1^st Marine Division, Howard and his platoon of 18 men were fighting behind enemy lines on June 16, 1966, in the Battle of Hill 488.  Not long after midnight a Viet Cong force estimated to be battalion-sized, began attacking Howard and his men with small arms, automatic weapons and mortar fire.  Howard organized his platoon into defending the perimeter as he moved from one position to another to direct their fire, according to the citation for his Medal of Honor.  He and his men kept up the fight all night, with Howard shouting encouragement to the fellow Marines.  Fragments from an enemy grenade resulted in serious injury to his legs – he couldn’t move them.  So, he passed his remaining ammunition to the rest of his platoon and maintained radio communication to direct airstrikes. 

In the morning, five of his men were dead and all but one of them wounded, but they were still commanding their positions.  When evacuation helicopters attempted to rescue them, Howard warned them off and ordered more airstrikes and directed small arms fire against the enemy’s automatic weapons positions so the landing zone would be safer. He was credited with being largely responsible for preventing the deaths of his entire platoon.

Born on July 27, 1929, in Burlington, Iowa, Howard enlisted in the Marines in 1950, later serving in the Korean and Vietnam wars.  He retired in 1977 as a First Sergeant, returning home to San Diego and later volunteering as a football coach at Point Loma High School.  He died of a heart attack in 1993 and has been buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.  Among his many decorations was the naming of a Navy destroyer, the USS HOWARD (DDG-83), for him.

MEDALS AND CITATIONS

Medal of Honor

Silver Star

Purple Heart w/2 gold stars

Navy Unit Commendation

Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal w/3 bronze stars

National Defense Service Medal w/1 bronze star

Korean Service Medal w/4 bronze stars

Vietnam Service Medal w/1 bronze star

United Nations Service Medal

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)