Earl S. Howarth – Colonel, United States Air Force

From a contemporary press report:

Earl S. Howarth, 87, a retired Air Force colonel who specialized in safety, died of cancer October 9, 1998 at his home in Arlington, Virginia.

Colonel Howarth was born in Somerville, Mass. He graduated from Tufts University with a degree in engineering. He began his military career in 1934 when he was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers.

In the late 1930s, after service at various posts in the United States, he returned to civilian life. He was a safety engineer with Lever Brothers until he was recalled to active duty during World War II.

In 1947, Colonel Howarth transferred to the Air Force, which became a separate service that year. He was assigned to the Ground Safety Systems Command. He had overseas assignments in Japan and Okinawa and was stationed in the Washington area when he retired in 1963. For the next 19 years, he was a civilian employee of the Air Force in the safety field.

Colonel Howarth was a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers.

His marriage to the former Alice Waters ended in divorce. His second wife, the former Dorothy Schumpert, died in 1980.

Survivors include two daughters from his first marriage, Pamela Magee of Broken Arrow, Okla., and Susan H. Dewey of Sun Valley, Calif.; a son from his second marriage, Greg Howarth of Arlington; two stepchildren, Stephanie Shankin of Cerritos, Calif., and Fred Morris of Dallas; a sister, Dorothy Lapham of Augusta, Maine; 10 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

HOWARTH, EARL S., Col., USAF (Ret.)

On Friday, October 9, 1998, at his residence, beloved brother of Dorothy H. Lapham; and devoted father of Pamela Magee, Susan H. Dewey, Gregory Howarth, Stephanie Shanklin and Fred Morris. He is also survived by ten grand and great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to Hospice of Northern Virginia or your local Hospice. Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery. This ad first appeared in The Washington Post October 12, 199

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard