Captain Howard was the pilot of a B-26B Invader bomber with the 728th Bomber Squadron, 452nd Bomber Wing. On 26 August 1951, while on a night intruder mission, contact with the aircraft (Snowflake) was lost as it was inbound to its target southwest of Ichon, North Korea. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Howard was awarded the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.