WHITE, Howard - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Howard White was a purple heart recipient, Howard Clouser was on the USS Arizona when it was blown up and Dad went in on the initial wave at Normandy Beach (Omaha). I have loaned them several things of Dad’s --- a hand signed proclamation by the Mayor of Antwerp, Belgium for serving well over 100 days of V-bomb attack, a press release on his unit, his discharge papers, etc. Dennis and I didn’t know until I found the discharge papers that Dad was a recipient of a 4-bronze star cluster.

I checked with Dad to make sure my memory was correct. His brother Howard was on deck of the Arizona when the bomb dropped. He was blown off into the water and was uninjured. He went back to try and help those on deck who were injured and ended up swimming to shore through the fires in the water.

Dad and Howard were both lucky they survived the war. Dad doesn’t even like talking about it. I asked him why once and he told me his buddy that he went on shore with was killed within a few steps on the beach. He also told me they arrived by ship 3 days prior to the attack and that because of the timing of the attack he had to go through basic training twice. That’s about all he ever told me. It is easy to see why these men are called the greatest generation—first the great depression and then the war they served in that set the course for America’s greatness!