Eugene Adair ‘Gene’ Howell was born into military life. His father was an Air Force officer, and Gene was most at home on military bases. He was five when one of his Dad’s friends gave him a “tar bucket” to wear at play, and he told his mother he wanted to be a West Point cadet when he grew up. Prior to kindergarten, the family moved from Clinton, SC to Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), FL, then to Tyndall AFB, Panama City, FL; Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, AL; Howard AFB, Panama; and Shaw AFB, Sumter, SC. Gene started high school in Grinnell, IA but moved to Falls Church, VA when his Dad was assigned to the Pentagon. Gene recalled hopping on city buses to tour the Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol Building, DC monuments, Arlington, and more. Wherever life took him, Gene was an avid explorer of scenic sites and historical landmarks.
Gene received an appointment to West Point from South Carolina Congressman Robert T. Ashmore and reported to West Point on July 1, 1956. Following graduation in 1960, he was commissioned in the Air Defense Artillery and assigned to the 56th Artillery Brigade in Los Angeles, CA. En route to LA he attended Airborne training at Fort Benning, GA and Air Defense Artillery basic courses at Fort Sill, OK and Fort Bliss, TX. He reported to Fort McArthur, San Pedro, CA in 1961, assigned to D Battery, 1st Battalion, 56th Artillery Brigade, a Nike Hercules Air Defense missile battery atop Mount Gleason in the Angeles National Forest north of Pasadena, CA.
In August 1962, Gene transferred to the Ordnance Corp and was sent to graduate school at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, graduating in June 1964 with a master’s in mechanical engineering, with a specialty in thermodynamics. He was sent to Sandia Base, Albuquerque, NM for nuclear weapons assembly and maintenance training, which led to assignment to the 510th Ordnance Company in Leutkirch, Germany. A year later, he was relocated to USAREUR headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, receiving the Army Commendation Medal for this assignment.
Back in the states, Gene went to Redstone Arsenal, AL for the Ammunition Officers Course, where he received the highest grade achieved in 11 years (out of 10,000 students). Then it was off to Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD to the Ordnance Career Course and Automotive Maintenance Officers Course. In November 1967, he was assigned to Qui Nhon Support Command, Vietnam to serve as operations officer for the 98th Supply and Service Battalion. For his tour in Vietnam, Gene was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
Gene returned to the United States in 1969 to serve as executive officer of the Fin Stabilized Munitions Program at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, receiving the Meritorious Service Medal in 1970. In 1971, he was off to Pirmasens, Germany, serving six months as an ordnance officer with Advanced Weapons Support Command before being sent to command the Siegelsbach Special Weapons Depot and then, in 1973, to HQ of 197th Ordnance Battalion. Upon departing Germany in 1974, Gene was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster.
At Savanna Army Depot, IL, he was Deputy Director of Special Weapons. During this assignment, Gene completed the Command and General Staff College Correspondence Course. He returned to Picatinny Arsenal as Assistant Program Manager for Nuclear Weapons. In 1977, he was sent to Kirtland AFB, NM as Assistant Program Manager in charge of the Albuquerque Office, where he worked closely with Los Alamos, Sandia, and Livermore Labs in development of new nuclear weapons. Upon retirement in 1980 he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
From 1980 through 1999, Gene was employed in the corporate world. He worked at Rocky Flats Nuclear Plant and Ball Aerospace, Boulder, CO; United Technologies Optical Systems, Palm Beach, FL; Textron Corp., Wilmington, MA; and Northrop Grumman Corp., Los Angeles, CA.
On every assignment (except for Vietnam), Gene was accompanied by his wife, Gretta. They married in September 1962 and had three children: daughter Gena Lynne, born in 1964 at White Sands Missile Range Clinic, NM; daughter Lisa Anne, born in 1965 in Augsburg, Germany; and son Eugene Garrick (Gary), born in 1971 in Stuttgardt, Germany.
After retiring from Northrop Grumman, Gene moved his family to Melbourne, FL. He enjoyed golf, growing orchids, and oil painting. He served as secretary for a local bonsai club and one of his bonsai trees was displayed at the Epcot Theme Park on the grounds of Walt Disney World.
When his grandson Remington (Remy) Howell was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at age seven, Gene became a Boy Scout leader and mentored Remy to the rank of Eagle Scout and later to a four-year scholarship to the University of Central Florida. Like the Army, Gene took care of his own. He attended Calvary Chapel in Melbourne, FL. His favorite Bible verse was John 3:16.
When Gene filled out forms asking for his occupation, he often wrote “Soldier.” Classmate Joe Lucas defined Gene as “a quintessential Soldier and gentleman.” Phil Blake, a former West Point roommate, commented that “Gene’s most distinguishing characteristics were his friendliness and sense of humor.”
Gene was faithful to the motto Duty, Honor, Country. His wife recalls how he waved goodbye with a big smile as he boarded a plane for Vietnam. After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he had a photograph made, flashing that same dauntless smile. On November 19, 2014, the soul of a Soldier moved on to a new assignment. Gene was laid to rest with honor among friends in Arlington National Cemetery.
— Mrs. Eugene A. (Gretta) Howell