Knox School Board Receives Vietnam Memorabilia

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes' senior picture

The Knox Community School Board graciously accepted a donation of memorabilia from the family of a Knox High School student who was killed in action in the Vietnam War. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the presentation was done during the Spotlight on Success portion of the meeting last week.

“Mr. Bendicsen, the Assistant Principal at the high school, brought in some recent donations from Anne Howes, the sister-in-law of Andy Howes. Andy Howes was a 1968 graduate of Knox High School and he was missing in action in Vietnam. It was recently determined that Howes died in Vietnam. His remains were brought to the states just last year. They found a picture of Andy in uniform and had it framed. Also, a pencil sketching of his name on the Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington, D.C. and proclamations from the City of Knox and the U.S. Congress were given to the school.”

The items will be put on display.

Sept. 21 is POW/MIA Day

Posted on Author WKVI
This chair and table will remain vacant until all POW/MIA are accounted for.

More than 83,000 Americans are missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the 1991 Gulf War, but last August, the remains of Starke County’s last known Vietnam POW/MIA, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Andy Howe, were returned to Starke County. Forty years after his helicopter was shot down in Vietnam, Howes returned home to a hero’s welcome.

In honor of those missing or lost, the third Friday in September is nationally observed as POW/MIA day. This year, that date falls on Sept. 21.

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Year in Review – Top Story

Posted on Author WKVI

This week we have been reviewing the Top Stories of 2011. Today we reveal the top story of the Year.

It was a story that captivated all who heard it. Chief Warrant Officer Andy Howes returned home after being lost in the Vietnam War on January 10th, 1970. Although his remains had been in storage in Hawaii since the ’80’s, only improved testing allowed an Armed Forces Forensic Team to match DNA samples to those that had earlier been taken from relatives.

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Andy Howes to be Buried in Arlington National Cemetery Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes' casket will be transported his gravesite in a manner similar to this Army caisson

After being honored by his hometown Monday and Tuesday, Chief Warrant officer Andy Howes will be buried today in Arlington National Cemetery.

Services will be held at Memorial Chapel on the Ft. Myers property at 11:00 a.m. ET. Following the services, the procession will go to Arlington with the casket riding on a horse drawn caisson. Also participating in the services will be an Army band and a firing squad will fire the 21 gun salute.

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Andy Howes’ Remains to be Laid to Rest at Arlington National Cemetery

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes arrived in Knox Monday evening in a procession from Indianapolis. Photo by Jayme Goetz

The remains of Chief Warrant officer, Andy Howes, now move on to a final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery after Memorial Services were held in Knox yesterday. Those services will be Friday, August 5th.

The family had brought him back to Knox hoping the ceremonies would bring closure to the community that nurtured him in his formative years.

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Andy Howes Returns Home Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

Chief Warrant Officer, Andy Howes, returns to Knox today 41 years after being killed in action during the Vietnam War.

His remains were positively identified by a DNA match with family members.

He is the final member of a four-man helicopter crew to be returned for burial. After services here tomorrow, the remains will be flown to Arlington National Cemetery to his final resting place.

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More Details about Memorial Services for Andy Howes

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

WKVI has learned some of the details of the services for Chief Warrant Officer Andy Howes, a Knox native whose remains are being transported from Hawaii to Indianapolis on Monday. He was lost 41 years ago in a helicopter crash in Vietnam, and although his remains were sent to Hawaii in 1988, they were only recently identified through DNA analysis.

Services will be held in Knox on Tuesday, and then the body will be sent to its final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery on August 5th. Services are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday night, with calling after 5:00 p.m. at the Knox Community Center.

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Memorial Services for Andy Howes Scheduled for Tuesday, August 2nd

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

Classmates from as far as Florida, New York and Delaware and throughout Indiana are coming to Knox for memorial services for Chief Warrant Officer, Andy Howes. Many of his Knox High School classmates have MIA bracelets that they wore for a number of years, or put away in a known chest awaiting his return. The family has invited all who have bracelets to put them in the casket with the remains.

Howes will be returning to Knox on Monday, with a Patriot Guard escort, and memorial services will be held at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening at the Knox Community Center.

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Services Scheduled for Andy Howes

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

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.” Continue reading →

Services for Andy Howes Set for August

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

Services will be held in Starke County in August for Chief Warrant Officer, Andy Howes. Although complete details are not available at this time, it is known that services will be August 2nd and that his remains will be taken on to his final resting place, Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Those services will be held August 5th. Howes’ partial remains have been in U.S. possession since 1988. They were identified through DNA samples.

Originally, plans were set for 2012 but were moved up to August of this year.

Howes was on a mission in November of 1970 when his helicopter failed to return to base.  He was a Knox High School graduate.

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Shocking News Reported in the Three Months

Posted on Author WKVI
Samuel Hewitt
Andy Howes

“Three months of news that has shocked the community.” Think of it, since the remains of Sam Hewitt were found in Vietnam, and the identification of the remains of Andy Howes from the same war were made, and now the scheduled release of Lisa Owens from prison.

All three have elicited extreme emotions. From shock, to joy, to bewilderment, and anger. We have probably never had a period of time like this in the history of WKVI Radio.

Lisa Owens

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Services for Andy Howes to be Decided at the End of the Year

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

We have an update on our Andy Howes story. Andy’s brother, Rob, has returned to India where he is employed as an Aeronautical Engineer. He will not return until Christmas of 2011 so no decision on services or burial site will be made until then. It’s felt the services will be held in 2012.

As earlier reported Andy’s great-nephew, Michael, is serving in Afghanistan and will accompany the remains home from Hawaii.

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Andy Howes’ MIA Bracelet Displayed at Knox Elementary School

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes' MIA bracelet is displayed at the Knox Elementary School

Before he passed away in 1995, beloved Knox Middle School Principal Chuck James bequeathed some of his prized possessions to those who he thought would enjoy them. One of the possessions was an MIA bracelet he had worn after the downing of Andy Howes’ helicopter in Vietnam. The bracelet has been in the Board Room at the Knox Elementary School in a display case.

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Andy Howes’ Remains Positively Identified

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

We are learning more details about a story WKVI broke on Saturday. Several bones that were returned to the Army in 1988 have been positively identified as belonging to Andy Howes, the young soldier from Knox who was MIA for over four decades after the helicopter he was in went down in Vietnam.

We now know there were six bones recovered (a right upper arm, a left lower arm, a right upper leg, one rib, and two other bones). All of the bones are partial and degraded, but positively match the DNA profile provided by Rob (Andy’s brother) and his late sister, Valarie.

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Andy Howes’ Remains Found in Vietnam

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

Here’s a great story to begin the new year. The family of Andy Howes has acknowledged that remains held by the Army are his. The remains were in one of 23 boxes given to the United States by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1988.

There is no evidence where they came from.

At the time the remains were turned over to the government, there was no way of determining who they belonged to. DNA sequencing was not perfected until 2007 and 2008.

It was recently determined that DNA supplied by Andy’s brother, Rob, positively proved to be a match. To date, there are no burial plans or when the family will receive the remains.

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