Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I didn't even know until recently that he had passed. May God bless him and those like him.
Army Col. Robert Lewis Howard, believed to be nation's most decorated soldier, dies at 70
Retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard, a Medal of Honor winner and one of America’s most decorated soldiers, died Wednesday in Waco after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Howard, 70, formerly of San Antonio and father of Waco resident Melissa Gentsch, served five tours of duty in Vietnam and is the only soldier in our nation’s history to be nominated for the Medal of Honor three times for three separate episodes.
Although the Medal of Honor can be awarded only once to an individual, men who served with Howard said he deserved all three, according to a Web site posted to honor Howard and other soldiers.
Howard will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D. C.
Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, expressed condolences to Howard’s family in a statement Wednesday.
“As one of America’s most decorated veterans, Colonel Howard inspired everyone he met to consider their own commitment to our nation’s essential values, and was the bravest soldier I ever met. His unshakable commitment to freedom, displayed in countless episodes of battlefield gallantry, lives on in the actions of our military men and women who continue to serve in hostile conditions overseas,” Perry said.
Howard grew up in Opelika, Ala. , and enlisted in the Army in 1956 at the age of 17. He retired as a full colonel in 1992 after 36 years of service. During Vietnam, he served in the Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and spent most of his five tours in the top-secret special operations forces, which ran classified cross-border operations into Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam.
“He was a national treasure and a great warrior during a time that our country turned its back on our soldiers,” said Howard’s son-in-law, Waco Assistant Police Chief Frank Gentsch. “He always continued working for the soldiers throughout his career and even in retirement. He made trips all over the country and all over the world visiting soldiers. ”
3 times nominated
The first of his three Medal of Honor nominations was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, our country’s second-highest honor. His second and third nominations were simultaneous for two separate actions, and the Medal of Honor was awarded for the first of them and was presented to him by President Richard M. Nixon at the White House in 1971.
The other nomination was downgraded to the Silver Star. Howard was wounded 14 times in 54 months of combat duty in Vietnam. He was awarded eight Purple Hearts.
While leading a covert SOG platoon-sized mission in southeastern Laos on November 16, 1967, Sergeant First Class Howard carried out actions that led to his being recommended for his nation’s highest honor. While the main body destroyed an enemy cache, Howard’s team came upon four North Vietnamese Army soldiers, whom he shot. The team was then pinned down by heavy machine gun fire. Howard first eliminated a sniper and then charged the machine gun position, killing its occupants. When a second machine gun opened up, he crawled forward to within point-blank range and threw a hand grenade, disabling that gun.
When more of the North Vietnamese took over the same gun, Howard stood in the open and fired a light anti-tank weapon, knocking it out once again. The team was then successfully extracted by helicopter. Although recommended for the Medal of Honor, Howard’s award was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross. This would be the first of three recommendations within 13 months for the Medal of Honor for Robert Howard.
In mid-November Howard accompanied an FOB-2 Hatchet Platoon into Laos. After four days in the area, on November 19, 1968, the force was ambushed by Vietnamese troops, including a Soviet-built PT-76 tank. Braving intense fire, Howard crept forward and knocked out the PT-76 with an anti-tank rocket. After a medivac helicopter was shot down, Howard, already wounded, charged forward 300 yards through North Vietnamese fire to lead the two pilots and a wounded door gunner to safety. He was again wounded, this time by 14 pieces of shrapnel, but all that this seemed to do was aggravate him.
He charged the Vietnamese, killed two and dragged back a third as a prisoner. North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire halted the extraction of the platoon until the following morning, when Howard, already perforated multiple times, moved forward and silenced a 37 mm anti-aircraft gun, allowing the extraction to be completed. For the second time, Howard was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but his award was again downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross.
This series of events illustrates the difficulties faced when special operations personnel exhibited extraordinary bravery in denied areas. Recommendations for decorations always stipulated the location and circumstances of the action, and since the award of such a high decoration became public knowledge, the citation would have to be changed to place the action within territorial South Vietnam. The U. S. Congress and President were loath to create any sense of falsehood about the actions of the nation’s most highly decorated military personnel, so, in many instances, awards were downgraded to keep the recipient out of the limelight.
On December 30, 1968 Howard was serving as a member of a 40-man Bright Light rescue mission into northeastern Cambodia. The unit was in search of MACSOG Private First Class Robert Scherdin , who had been separated from his recon team. Bypassing a North Vietnamese Army company, Howard was leading his men up a hill when he and Lieutenant Jim Jerson were wounded by a land mine. While administering first aid to Jerson, a bullet struck one of the wounded man’s ammunition pouches, detonating several magazines. His fingers in shreds, Howard was dragging Jerson off the hill when he was shot in the foot.
The remaining 20 men were organized by Howard, who administered first aid, directed their fire, and encouraged them to resist. After three and one-half hours under attack, Howard prepared for a fight to the death. The team was saved from that fate, however, when an emergency night extraction took them off without any further casualties. As badly wounded as he was, Howard was the last man to board a helicopter. After his third recommendation in 13 months, Robert Howard was finally awarded a well-deserved Medal of Honor.
Perhaps no man represented the quandary of the political and moral dilemma of the Vietnam War in the heart and mind of America better than Howard. He had become arguably the most highly decorated serviceman in American military history, yet few of his countrymen even knew who he was. Unlike Alvin York or Audie Murphy before him, Howard was not touted as a national hero by the media, he was given no ticker tape parade, and no Hollywood movie was made depicting his extraordinary exploits. Of course, none of this bothered the quiet, unassuming Howard. He remained in the Army and retired as a full Colonel, after 36 years of active service, in September 1992.
Army Col. Robert Lewis Howard, believed to be nation's most decorated soldier, dies at 70
Retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard, a Medal of Honor winner and one of America’s most decorated soldiers, died Wednesday in Waco after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Howard, 70, formerly of San Antonio and father of Waco resident Melissa Gentsch, served five tours of duty in Vietnam and is the only soldier in our nation’s history to be nominated for the Medal of Honor three times for three separate episodes.
Although the Medal of Honor can be awarded only once to an individual, men who served with Howard said he deserved all three, according to a Web site posted to honor Howard and other soldiers.
Howard will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D. C.
Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, expressed condolences to Howard’s family in a statement Wednesday.
“As one of America’s most decorated veterans, Colonel Howard inspired everyone he met to consider their own commitment to our nation’s essential values, and was the bravest soldier I ever met. His unshakable commitment to freedom, displayed in countless episodes of battlefield gallantry, lives on in the actions of our military men and women who continue to serve in hostile conditions overseas,” Perry said.
Howard grew up in Opelika, Ala. , and enlisted in the Army in 1956 at the age of 17. He retired as a full colonel in 1992 after 36 years of service. During Vietnam, he served in the Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and spent most of his five tours in the top-secret special operations forces, which ran classified cross-border operations into Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam.
“He was a national treasure and a great warrior during a time that our country turned its back on our soldiers,” said Howard’s son-in-law, Waco Assistant Police Chief Frank Gentsch. “He always continued working for the soldiers throughout his career and even in retirement. He made trips all over the country and all over the world visiting soldiers. ”
3 times nominated
The first of his three Medal of Honor nominations was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, our country’s second-highest honor. His second and third nominations were simultaneous for two separate actions, and the Medal of Honor was awarded for the first of them and was presented to him by President Richard M. Nixon at the White House in 1971.
The other nomination was downgraded to the Silver Star. Howard was wounded 14 times in 54 months of combat duty in Vietnam. He was awarded eight Purple Hearts.
While leading a covert SOG platoon-sized mission in southeastern Laos on November 16, 1967, Sergeant First Class Howard carried out actions that led to his being recommended for his nation’s highest honor. While the main body destroyed an enemy cache, Howard’s team came upon four North Vietnamese Army soldiers, whom he shot. The team was then pinned down by heavy machine gun fire. Howard first eliminated a sniper and then charged the machine gun position, killing its occupants. When a second machine gun opened up, he crawled forward to within point-blank range and threw a hand grenade, disabling that gun.
When more of the North Vietnamese took over the same gun, Howard stood in the open and fired a light anti-tank weapon, knocking it out once again. The team was then successfully extracted by helicopter. Although recommended for the Medal of Honor, Howard’s award was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross. This would be the first of three recommendations within 13 months for the Medal of Honor for Robert Howard.
In mid-November Howard accompanied an FOB-2 Hatchet Platoon into Laos. After four days in the area, on November 19, 1968, the force was ambushed by Vietnamese troops, including a Soviet-built PT-76 tank. Braving intense fire, Howard crept forward and knocked out the PT-76 with an anti-tank rocket. After a medivac helicopter was shot down, Howard, already wounded, charged forward 300 yards through North Vietnamese fire to lead the two pilots and a wounded door gunner to safety. He was again wounded, this time by 14 pieces of shrapnel, but all that this seemed to do was aggravate him.
He charged the Vietnamese, killed two and dragged back a third as a prisoner. North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire halted the extraction of the platoon until the following morning, when Howard, already perforated multiple times, moved forward and silenced a 37 mm anti-aircraft gun, allowing the extraction to be completed. For the second time, Howard was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but his award was again downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross.
This series of events illustrates the difficulties faced when special operations personnel exhibited extraordinary bravery in denied areas. Recommendations for decorations always stipulated the location and circumstances of the action, and since the award of such a high decoration became public knowledge, the citation would have to be changed to place the action within territorial South Vietnam. The U. S. Congress and President were loath to create any sense of falsehood about the actions of the nation’s most highly decorated military personnel, so, in many instances, awards were downgraded to keep the recipient out of the limelight.
On December 30, 1968 Howard was serving as a member of a 40-man Bright Light rescue mission into northeastern Cambodia. The unit was in search of MACSOG Private First Class Robert Scherdin , who had been separated from his recon team. Bypassing a North Vietnamese Army company, Howard was leading his men up a hill when he and Lieutenant Jim Jerson were wounded by a land mine. While administering first aid to Jerson, a bullet struck one of the wounded man’s ammunition pouches, detonating several magazines. His fingers in shreds, Howard was dragging Jerson off the hill when he was shot in the foot.
The remaining 20 men were organized by Howard, who administered first aid, directed their fire, and encouraged them to resist. After three and one-half hours under attack, Howard prepared for a fight to the death. The team was saved from that fate, however, when an emergency night extraction took them off without any further casualties. As badly wounded as he was, Howard was the last man to board a helicopter. After his third recommendation in 13 months, Robert Howard was finally awarded a well-deserved Medal of Honor.
Perhaps no man represented the quandary of the political and moral dilemma of the Vietnam War in the heart and mind of America better than Howard. He had become arguably the most highly decorated serviceman in American military history, yet few of his countrymen even knew who he was. Unlike Alvin York or Audie Murphy before him, Howard was not touted as a national hero by the media, he was given no ticker tape parade, and no Hollywood movie was made depicting his extraordinary exploits. Of course, none of this bothered the quiet, unassuming Howard. He remained in the Army and retired as a full Colonel, after 36 years of active service, in September 1992.
