Master Sergeant Howard was a veteran of World War II.

In Korea, he was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On 20 March 1951, he died of carbon monoxide poisoning as he slept in a tent next to the exhaust of a running truck at Sangori Mokchang, South Korea.

Howard was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean War Service Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.