John A. (Jack) Howell, Army Air Force

John A. (Jack) Howell became a member of the Army Air Force in January 1943. He was selected to go to Bombardier School, but was disqualified due to being colorblind. He was then selected to be a radio operator in a fighter control squadron. He was in Basic Training at the Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX, and then trained at Air Bases in South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Connecticut.

His overseas assignment was in the CBI Theater of Operations and he spent almost two years at a remote air base in Burma. This was before the days of radar, so his responsibility was to send fighter planes by radio signals from the ground to engage the Japanese planes in battle and then bring them back to base safely. He was in Burma until the Japanese surrendered and the war was over in September 1945. Jack returned home shortly thereafter. (His return home was bittersweet because our 1 year old son contracted diphtheria and died September 30, 1943 and Jack was not able to come home at that time.) To and from Burma took 30 days by boat to India (each way), then by air to Burma.