Colonel Philip Vann HOWELL, Jr.

1925 - 2004  (79 years)

• Name	Philip Vann HOWELL  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Prefix	Colonel
  Suffix	Jr.
  Birth	7 Jul 1925	Mullins, South Carolina
  Gender	Male
  HIST	at death- he had an additional grandson- Daniel Howell Neier- who are his parents? jkh of Sumter, South Carolina PHILIP V. HOWELL Jr. Print Posted: Thursday, July 15, 2004 12:00 am | Updated: 4:02 pm, Thu Feb 25, 2010. U.S. Air Force retired Col. Philip Vann Howell Jr., age 79, beloved husband of 51 years to Shirley Jeanee Colaw Howell, died Tuesday, July 13, 2004, at his residence. Col. Howell was born in Mullins the son of the late Mary Clyde Martin Howell and Philip Vann Howell. He was raised in the Tidewater area of Virginia and graduated from Newport News High School, Newport, Va. He attended College of William and Mary, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. He entered the Aviation Cadet program in August 1943 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in March 1945. He served in the Army of Occupation in Germany and flew in the Berlin Airlift. He flew combat missions in Korea and Vietnam. In addition to his flying activities, he served as a special agent with the Army Counter Intelligence Corp., the Air Force Counter Intelligence in Europe, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Department of Defense Intelligence Agency. Prior to his retirement, he commanded the 18th Tactical Fighting Wing in Okinawa and the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw Air Force Base. Col. Howell was a graduate of the Army CIC School, the European Intelligence School Oberammergau, Germany; the British Land Warfare School, Old Sarum, England; the Armed Forces Staff College and the Air War College. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in military science from the University of Maryland, a Master of Science degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a certificate for completion of a special course in psychology of criminal interrogation and scientific criminal investigation from the Institute of Criminology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Col. Howell's numerous military awards and decorations include the Silver Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Two Oak Clusters and the Air Medal with 16 Oak Clusters. He was a member of the Air Force Association, the Military Officers Association of America, the Order of the Daedalians, the American Legion Post 15, the Veterans of the Foreign Wars Post 3034, the American Museum in Britain, the National Air and Space Society and the Godfather Golf Association. After retirement, he served on several boards of the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce for improvements to the city of Sumter. He was a past member and chairman of the board of the Sumter County Housing Authority and he was of the Episcopal faith. Survivors in addition to his wife of Sumter are three daughters, Constance Leigh Howell of Irmo, Lecia Anne Corn of Enoree, and Elizabeth Jane Griggs of West Columbia; and four grandchildren, Daniel Howell Neier, Faith Anne Sullivan, Megan Hope Sullivan and Quintin Corn. He was preceded in death by his parents. A graveside service with full military honors will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Mount Hope Cemetery in Florence. Honorary pallbearers will be Jim Thornton, Lt. Col. Billy Campbell, Col. Adrian Burrows, Tom Waters, Gus Guenther, Ramon Schwartz, Phil Ballenger, Cliff Goodwin, Maj. Gen. Tom Olsen and members of the Godfather's Golf Group of Sunset Country Club. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Bullock Funeral Home and other times at the residence on Glouchester Drive in Sumter. Memorials may be sent to Order of the Daedalians 70th Flight Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 3192 Sumter, SC 29150. Online memorial messages may be sent to the family at www.bullockfuneralhome.com. The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter for the arrangements. Posted in Obits on Thursday, July 15, 2004 Col. Philip Vann Howell Jr. v 1925-2004 Print Posted: Thursday, July 15, 2004 12:00 am | Updated: 4:03 pm, Thu Feb 25, 2010. The flag in Col. Philip Vann Howell Jr.’s back yard has been lowered to half-staff by his grandchildren. His memoirs, written for his children at the insistence of his wife, lay on a table in the front room of his home. “He never started anything he couldn’t finish,” his wife of 51 years, Shirley Howell, said. “And he never liked the accolades,” his daughter, Constance Howell, added. Philip Howell, 79, who died Tuesday, was born in Mullins in 1925 and joined the Air Force at the age of 17 during World War II. Howell went on to become a second lieutenant in 1945, serving in the Army occupation in Germany and the Berlin Airlift and flying combat missions in Korea and Vietnam. Prior to his retirement, he commanded the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing in Okinawa and the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter. But he almost wasn’t able to join the Air Force. “He couldn’t meet the weight,” Shirley Howell said, but “he wanted to fly. That’s all he ever wanted to do.” Howell said one of the military surgeons told her husband to eat green bananas and drink water before his next weigh-in, and that’s what he did. But it wasn’t enough. He was still about a pound under weight. “The surgeon said, ‘Anybody that wants to be in the service this bad deserves to be,’ and he passed him,” Howell said. Throughout his years in the United States Air Force, Howell was awarded the Silver Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters and the Air Medal with 16 Oak Leaf Clusters. Howell’s wife said she thinks he got the Silver Star for his actions during a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam. “They (the North Vietnamese) had anti-aircraft guns and were shooting down a plane over a certain area, and they never could pin it down” because the gun was on wheels, she said. “My husband devised a mission where they would go in at 200 feet off the ground, drop their tanks, catch them unaware and take pictures.” Most of the events of other acts of bravery and quick thinking that earned Howell his medals are either vague or a complete mystery. “I don’t even know half of the things that he ever did,” Constance Howell said. “They’re all top secret.” Phil Howell loved his military career almost as much as he loved his family and his golf game. “He was the most honest and kind man I’ve ever known,” his wife said. “Friendship meant a great deal to him. He loved his country, his family ... and golf.” Cliff Goodwin of Goodwin Buick said Howell played in a golf group with his father almost every Saturday and became a treasured friend of the family. “You couldn’t meet Phil (Howell) and not like him,” Goodwin said. “He was pleasant and dignified, and you always looked forward to having him come and talk. He was a member of ‘The Greatest Generation,’ and he truly personified that phrase.” “He was a wonderful father, and he was always there for us, even when he was in another country,” Howell’s daughter said. A graveside service with military honors will be held for Howell at 11 a.m. Friday at Mount Hope Cemetery in Florence. The family will receive friends today from 6 until 8 p.m. at Bullock Funeral Home and other times at the residence on Glouchester Drive in Sumter. — Laura Dalrymple Posted in News01 on Thursday, July 15, 2004  [3, 4, 5]
  MILI	U. S. Air Force Colonel (Retired) He entered the Aviation Cadet program in August 1943 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in March 1945. He served in the Army of Occupation in Germany and flew in the Berlin Airlift. He flew combat missions in Korea and Vietnam. In addition to his flying activities, he served as a special agent with the Army Counter Intelligence Corp., the Air Force Counter Intelligence in Europe, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Department of Defense Intelligence Agency. Prior to his retirement, he commanded the 18th Tactical Fighting Wing in Okinawa and the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw Air Force Base. Col. Howell was a graduate of the Army CIC School, the European Intelligence School Oberammergau, Germany; the British Land Warfare School, Old Sarum, England; the Armed Forces Staff College and the Air War College. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in military science from the University of Maryland, a Master of Science degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a certificate for completion of a special course in psychology of criminal interrogation and scientific criminal investigation from the Institute of Criminology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Col. Howell's numerous military awards and decorations include the Silver Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Two Oak Clusters and the Air Medal with 16 Oak Clusters. He was a member of the Air Force Association, the Military Officers Association of America, the Order of the Daedalians, the American Legion Post 15, the Veterans of the Foreign Wars Post 3034, the American Museum in Britain, the National Air and Space Society and the Godfather Golf Association. Viet Nam 1967-68 - 233 missions - 200 - RFHC - 33 C130, 47, heli  [1, 2, 3]
  _UID	96E3A46CF72440C1BD4020F129874C3FEEB7
  Death	13 Jul 2004	at his residence   [1]
  Burial	16 Jul 2004	Mt. Hope Cemetery, Florence, Florence County, South Carolina   [2, 3]
  	Bullock Funeral Home, Sumter, South Carolina
  Person ID	I198887	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	31 Aug 2010

  
  

  Father	Philip Vann HOWELL, Sr.,   b. 10 Aug 1899, Fayetteville, North Carolina d. 20 Jun 1969, Morton Plant Hospital (Age 69 years)
  Mother	Mary Clyde MARTIN,   b. 2 Nov 1906   d. 17 Feb 1974 (Age 67 years)
  _UID	8599E64B19014544A4AEEB1E3A5466E02181
  _UID	8599E64B19014544A4AEEB1E3A5466E02181
  Family ID	F135026	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Shirley Jeanee COLAW
  Marriage	4 Apr 1953  [2, 3]
  _UID	7D9ACCD7AFBB4995AB63975F7CCA79E1A6D0
  _UID	7D9ACCD7AFBB4995AB63975F7CCA79E1A6D0
  Children	1. Lecia Anne HOWELL,   b. 1 Jul 1956, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia d. 5 Jan 2007, Greenville, South Carolina (Age 50 years)   2. Constance Leigh “Connie” HOWELL,   b. Washington   3. Elizabeth Jane “Lizzie” HOWELL,   b. RAF Molesworth, England
  Family ID	F135018	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	31 Aug 2010

  
  

• Sources

  [S8206] Lecia A. Corn. [S14791] . [S14796] Philip V. Howell Jr. [S14797] Col. Philip Vann Howell Jr. * 1925-2004. [S14809] In Memory of Mrs. Eva Howell Burch.