WWII Corporal Robert C Howser dances with Madeliene Carroll


Robert C. Howser
Leesburg's Lost WWII Corporal
Gary Dickens November 2011
A mere 102 days after the United States had declared war on the Axis powers, Leesburg Army Corporal Robert C. Howser found his 15 minutes of fame on the dance floor with British actress Madeleine Carroll. This photo, presumably published in "Picture Parade" Magazine on March 29, 1942, shows the pair at a Ft. Meade, Maryland dance for enlisted men. A quick online search for the corporal shows a Robert C. Howser buried in the West Hollywood Memorial Gardens in Hollywood, Florida. The stone there gives a birthdate of 06-07-1917 and a death of 07-20-1971. Cemetery records also list the data MD TEC5 Anti-tank CO 116 INF BSM WWII. This would indicate that this is the same man in the photo. (http://www.learnwebskills.com/browardcem/hollywest7.htm) *Does anyone know anything more about Corporal Howser and his relationship with Leesburg? Please email gary@leesburgmag.com* if you do.** There is considerably more information on Ms. Carroll. It would seem that Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film "The 39 Steps" launched her Hollywood career but when her sister was killed in the London Blitz she gave that all up to serve in field hospitals. In 1942 she would marry actor Sterling Hayden, who himself quit Hollywood to become an OSS agent. (You can search both biographies in Wikipedia)
The photo's provenance on its back. These bits of historical ephemera are so fascinating, yet open up so many questions.


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for more information email gary@leesburgmag.com
Dennis B. Boykin IV, veteran of Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Chairman of the Leesburg Executive Airport Commission, sent us this indepth transcription of the coding found on Corporal Howser's gravesite. (4 Dec 11) Thank you Sir.
Gary: I was fascinated to read about CPL Howzer and see the picture from Fort Meade. Let me see if I can help you out with some of the 'militarese': MD TEC5 Anti-tank CO 116 INF BSM is a government standard headstone inscription. Decoded, it reveals the following: MD: Maryland was consider his 'home of record', although before 1950 the Army often recorded the state in which you entered service as your home of record. So, he might have gone thru basic at Fort Meade, and therefore been considered a 'Maryland boy', even though he could have been from Pennsylvania or Virginia. That data isn't conclusive. He was a Technical Specialist 5 (equivalent to a SGT) when he left the Army, and chose to be remembered for his wartime service with the Anti-Tank Company of the 116th Infantry Regiment. As pictured, Corporal Howser is wearing the insignia of the 29th Infantry Division, which mobilized at Fort Meade for service during WWII. The 116th was (and still is) a part of the 29th Infantry Division, which has always been a reserve component unit, now made up of units from the MD and VA National Guard. The 116th has a pretty amazing history in WWII, including their position right next to the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) on D-Day assaulting Omaha Beach. As I'm sure you're aware, the National D-Day Museum in Bedford, Virginia is there because that town suffered the greatest losses on D-Day. Well, that was A Company of the 116th, most of whom hailed from Bedford. In the 1950's, 'regiments' were broken up into battalions officially, so rather than 12 companies named in order A - K (which is what they were during World War II) there are now four companies named A-D in each battalion. Today, K Company of the 116th lives on as Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment right here in Leesburg. You may remember that 3rd Battalion deployed, in total, to Afghanistan in 2004. And finally, BSM stands for Bronze Star Medal. As one who wears that decoration, I'm not surprised to learn that a soldier from the 116th wears it - that regiment stood tall during World War II, and CPL Howzer defended his nation honorably, and obviously valorously. I hope this helps your research. Sincerely, Dennis Dennis B. Boykin IV Major, U.S. Army, Retired 5th Field Artillery Regiment