Sergeant Howell was a member of the 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division and had just returned from Korea. On 24 February 1952, he was killed in an automobile accident near Boston, Massachusetts.

Howell was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Good Conduct Medal, 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.