Curtis W. Howard: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[List of Navy Cross recipients for World War II#H]] |
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{{For|the United States Navy destroyer escort|USS Curtis W. Howard (DE-752)}} |
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{{Infobox military person |
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|name = Curtis William Howard |
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|birth_date = {{birth date|1917|8|31}} |
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|death_date = {{death date and age|1942|6|4|1917|8|31}} |
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|birth_place = [[Guam]] |
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|death_place = [[Pacific Ocean]], near [[Midway Atoll]] |
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|placeofburial= |
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|placeofburial_label= Place of burial |
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|image = Curtis W. Howard.jpg |
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|caption = [[Lieutenant, junior grade]], Curtis W. Howard at [[Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay]], [[Territory of Hawaii]], on 29 May 1942, six days before his death in action during the [[Battle of Midway]] |
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|nickname="Punchy" |
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|allegiance = [[United States]] of America |
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|serviceyears = 1938–1942 |
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|rank = [[Lieutenant, junior grade]] |
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|branch = [[United States Navy]] |
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|commands = |
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|unit = [[Torpedo Squadron 3]] |
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|battles = [[World War II]]<br />*[[Battle of Midway]] |
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|awards = [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] |
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}} |
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'''Curtis W. Howard''' (1917–1942) was a [[United States Navy]] [[Commissioned officer|officer]] who received the [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] posthumously for his actions in combat during [[World War II]]. |
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== Naval career == |
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Curtis William Howard was born to [[Captain (United States)|Captain]] and Mrs. Jasper V. Howard ([[Medical Corps (United States Navy)|Medical Corps]]), [[USN]], on [[Guam]] on 31 August 1917. He was appointed a [[Midshipman#United States Navy and Marine Corps|midshipman]] from the [[State of California]] on 4 June 1934 and attended the [[United States Naval Academy]]. While there, he [[Boxing|boxed]], earning him the nickname "Punchy", and contemporaries considered him "possessed of a good sense of humor, exceptional perscipacity, and an able brain,"<ref name=DANFS>{{cite DANFS |url= http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/curtis-w-howard-de-752.html |title= USS Curtis Howard }}</ref> who "promises to become an apt officer".<ref name=DANFS /> Graduating with the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1938, Howard received his [[Commissioned officer|commission]] as an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] on 2 June 1938.<ref name=DANFS /> |
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Howard reported to the [[heavy cruiser]] [[USS Pensacola (CA-24)|USS ''Pensacola'' (CA-24)]] on 30 June 1938, and served aboard her until 11 September 1939. On 19 September 1939, he reported to the [[destroyer]] [[USS Greer (DD-145)|USS ''Greer'' (DD-145)]] at the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] at [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], where ''Greer'' was undergoing preparations for [[Ship commissioning|recommissioning]] on 4 October 1939 to become a part of the [[Neutrality Patrol]] ordered soon after [[World War II]] began in [[Europe]].<ref name=DANFS /> |
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Detached from ''Greer'' on 5 July 1940, Ensign Howard reported to [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]] at [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]], [[Florida]], on 29 July 1940 to commence flight "instruction in heavier-than-air craft."<ref name=DANFS /> He continued "duty involving flying under instruction"<ref name=DANFS /> there, and, ultimately, was designated a [[naval aviator]] on 23 January 1941. Detached from Naval Air Station Pensacola on 7 February 1941, he then served at [[Naval Air Station Miami]] at [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], Florida, from 25 March 1941 to 7 April 1941, after which he reported to [[Torpedo Squadron 3]], assigned to the air group of the [[aircraft carrier]] [[USS Saratoga (CV-3)|USS ''Saratoga'' (CV-3)]], on 7 April 1941. On 8 October 1941, he was promoted to [[lieutenant, junior grade]], to rank from 8 June 1941.<ref name=DANFS /> |
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The [[United States]] entered World War II on 7 December 1941. After an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[submarine]] [[torpedo]]ed ''Saratoga'' on 11 January 1942 and ''Saratoga''{{'}}s subsequent departure for repairs at [[Puget Sound Navy Yard]] at [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]], Torpedo Squadron 3 was based ashore, first at [[Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor]] on [[Ford Island]] in [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Territory of Hawaii]], standing alert duty for defense of the [[island]] of [[Oahu]], then at [[Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay]], Hawaii, whence the [[Squadron (aviation)|squadron]] trained and continued to stand alerts.<ref name=DANFS /> |
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On 30 May 1942, assigned to the air group of the aircraft carrier [[USS Yorktown (CV-5)|USS ''Yorktown'' (CV-5)]], replacing [[Torpedo Squadron 5]] aboard that carrier, Torpedo Squadron 3 flew on board as ''Yorktown'' departed Pearl Harbor to participate in what would become known as the [[Battle of Midway]]. During that battle, on 4 June 1942, ''Yorktown'' launched Torpedo Squadron 3 and [[Bombing Squadron 3]], covered by [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]] from [[Fighting Squadron 3]], to attack the Japanese aircraft carrier force in concert with a strike from aircraft carriers [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|USS ''Enterprise'' (CV-6)]] and [[USS Hornet (CV-8)|USS ''Hornet'' (CV-8)]]. Circumstances, however, dictated that only the ''Yorktown'' Air Group attacked as a unit, with Torpedo Squadron 3 following [[Torpedo Squadron 8]] and [[Torpedo Squadron 6]] as the last of the three torpedo squadrons to execute their brave low-level attacks. Japanese [[Mitsubishi A6M]]2 Type 00 carrier fighters, however, overwhelmed the six-plane Fighting Squadron 3 covering element, and, in concert with heavy [[antiaircraft]] fire from the Japanese aircraft carriers and their screening ships, shot down ten of the twelve Torpedo Squadron 3 [[Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas]] [[TBD Devastator|TBD-1 Devastator]] [[torpedo bomber]]s. Howard, piloting one of the Devastators, and his radio gunner, Aviation [[Radioman]] 3rd Class Charles L. Moore, perished in the attack.<ref name=DANFS /> |
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== Awards == |
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Howard was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his "self-sacrificing gallantry and fortitude...in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service..."<ref name=DANFS /> |
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== Namesake == |
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The U.S. Navy [[destroyer escort]] [[USS Curtis W. Howard (DE-752)|USS ''Curtis W. Howard'' (DE-752)]], [[ship naming and launching|launched]] in 1944 but never completed, was named for Lieutenant, junior grade, Howard.<ref name=DANFS /> |
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{{Portal|Biography|United States Navy}} |
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== Notes == |
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{{Reflist}} |
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== References == |
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*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/curtis-w-howard-de-752.html}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Curtis W.}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Curtis W.}} |
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[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]] |
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]] |
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[[Category:United States Navy officers]] |
[[Category:United States Navy officers]] |
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[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]] |
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:United States Navy personnel killed in World War II]] |
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[[Category:1917 births]] |
[[Category:1917 births]] |
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[[Category:1942 deaths]] |
[[Category:1942 deaths]] |
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Latest revision as of 08:10, 7 May 2022
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