2nd Lt. Vincent Paul Howard
Born: 30 November 1917 – Saint Louis, Missouri
Parents: Frank & Edna Howard
Siblings: 2 sisters, 2 brothers
Home:
– 917 South Twenty-second Avenue – Bellwood, Illinois
Education:
– St. Eulalia School
– Proviso Township High School
Class of 1936
Occupation: Inland Press Company – Chicago, Illinois
Selective Service Registration: 16 October 1940
Contact Person: Edna J. Howard – mother
Enlisted:
– 23 February 1942 – Chicago, Illinois
– U.S. Army Air Corps
– entered service as an enlisted man
– aviation cadet
Serial Number: O&731995
Training:
– Merced Army Airfield, California
– flight school
– Santa Ana Army Airfield, California
– Visalia Army Airfield, California
– Stockton Army Airfield, California
Unit: 36th Troop Carrier Squadron, 316 Troop Carrier Group, 9th Air Force
Stationed:
– Fayid, Egypt – January 1943
– Nouvion, Algeria – 9 May 1943
– Guercio, French Morocco – 29 May 1943
– Enfidaville, Tunisia – 21 June 1943
– the unit flew C-47s
Engagements:
– Battle of North Africa
– Invasion of Sicily
– Operation Husky II
– dropped paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division
Killed in Action:
– 11 July 1943
– his plane hit by “friendly fire” during Sicilian Invasion
Buried:
– 17 August 1948 – Calvary Cemetery, Saint Louis, Missouri
– U.S. Army Records indicate a military headstone was ordered by his father
and sent to Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis
Medals:
– Purple Heart
– Air Medal
