Forty-one years after being listed as Missing in Action in Vietnam, funeral services for CW 3 George A. (Andy) Howes will be held Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at the Knox Community Center, 55 East Lake Street, Knox Indiana. Burial will follow on August 5th, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. ET in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. A service at the Chapel at Fort Myer will be held at 9:00 a.m. prior to his burial in Arlington National Cemetery.
Robert Howes, brother of CW 3 Howes, said, “We are bringing Andy home to Knox, the community that nurtured him as he grew up and never forgot him while he was Missing in Action. We were honored by the outpouring of affection when it was announced that he had been identified. The service is open to the community and to everyone who kept him in their hearts.” Howes added: “Anyone having a POW/MIA bracelet for Andy and who would like their bracelet to be interred with him at Arlington National Cemetery is welcome to bring it to the service.”
CW3 Howes was listed as Missing in Action in Vietnam on January 10th, 1970, following the disappearance in Vietnam of Firebird 91, a UH-C1 helicopter. CW 3 Howes was the co-pilot of the helicopter piloted by Capt Herbert Crosby and crewed by SFS Frances Graziosi, and SF5 Wayne Allen. All of the crew members have been previously identified, making Andy the last of the crew to return home and the last MIA/KIA from Starke County to return.
CW 3 Howes was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on June 15th, 1950. The family moved to Knox, Indiana in 1956 where he graduated from Knox High School in 1968. The following September he enlisted in the United States Army and received his wings in August of 1969. His first tour of duty was in Vietnam, where he flew helicopter gunships while assigned to the 71st. Aviation Group, and Americal Division. He flew with the Firebirds, a distinguished and decorated gunship group based in Chu Lai, South Vietnam. CW 3 Howes was 19 years old when he disappeared. His remains were released by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi in 1988. However they remained unidentified until 2010 when an advance in DNA technology enabled their identification. The family was notified in December of 2010 of the identification. Marine Cpl Michael L. Bleeker, his great nephew, will escort the remains from Hawaii to Knox and then to Washington for burial.
CW 3 Howes has been awarded the following medals: Air Medal with Numeral Two, National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Meal with 2 Bronze Service Stars, Vietnam Campaign Medal with “60” Device, Basic Aviation Badge, the Republican of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm and the Purple Heart. He is memorialized on the Vietnam War Memorials in Washington D.C., Indianapolis, Indiana, Chesterton, Indiana and Knox, Indiana as well as at Clay Church in South Bend, Indiana. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the National League of POW/MIA Families, 5673 Columbia Pike, Suite 100, Falls Church, Virginia 22041.
CW 3 Howes is survived by his brother Robert Lloyd Howes of Wichita, Kansas; his cousins Judith Houser Labrozzi of Cancun, Mexico; Holly Hall Beaver of Nobesville, Indiana; Lyndell Hall Pierce of Doylestown, Pennsylvania; Peggy Hall Arquette of Knox, Indiana; Jackie Andrews Bridgewater of Kent, Ohio; Carol Andrews Sauter of Greenfield, Indiana; and Jack Andrews Jr. of Indianapolis, Indiana, as well as nieces Leslie Pulver Schoen of Bloomington, Minnesota; Kathryn Jean Pulver of Westville, Indiana; Alice Howes Bleeker of Burleson, Texas; Jennifer Jean Howes of Arlington, Texas and nephews Jesse Winfield Howes of Wichita, Kansas; and Andrew William Pulver of Knox, Indiana. Andy’s roots in Knox go back to his grandparents Frederick Lloyd and Pearl Mae Andrews and Robert Winfield and Hazel Dee Howes. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Lindell Howes and Bonnie Andrews Howes and his sister Valerie Pulver Larew, all of Knox, Indiana, and his cousin Frank D. Hall Jr. of Selma, Indiana.
Contact Mark Smith of MC Smith Funeral Home at (574) 772-4211 for additional information.
