In December 1968, half-way through the Vietnam War and deep in the Laos jungle, Special Forces recon man Colonel Robert Howard and his platoon were on a rescue mission when they were caught in a devastating ambush.
Blown ten feet by a powerful grenade blast, he was concussed, bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds, and unable to walk.
What happened next, and throughout his remarkable military career, made Howard the most decorated Green Beret in history.
Now, for the first time, his story is finally being told in full, in Beyond The Call of Duty, published today.
Bob Howard’s eyes opened to a hazy, chaotic scene.
The smells of smoke and gunpowder were strong. His ears were ringing, but slowly he became aware of a hellish orchestra of battle sounds all about him: chattering machine guns, barking rifles, screams, and deafening grenade blasts.
He tried to focus on the scene around him. But everything was blurry, clouded by a strange red film. Bob said silent prayers, fearful he had been blinded by the terrible explosion.
His body ached all over. Wiping his eyes, he saw red on his hands, and realized his vision had been obscured by shrapnel wounds to his head. Blood was dripping down his brow into his eyes.
Howard is the most decorated Green Beret in history – this photograph form 1971 shows the Medal of Honor around his neck
Bob Howard (left) with his team leader, Staff Sergeant Paul Poole on a recon patrol in late 1967 – a year before the devastating ambush in Laos
He cautiously felt around his body. His legs hurt, and his hands felt as if they were on fire. A quick glance showed nasty lacerations from grenade shrapnel. Two fingers hung limp.
As his vision focused, he saw that his rifle lay nearby, a useless hunk of twisted aluminum and steel.
Howard tried moving his legs, but stabs of pain greeted his efforts. Hot shards of metallic debris from the grenade had sliced into both legs and into his groin.
Near his right ankle, a bullet or chunk of shrapnel had torn through his foot. As he tried to move, he realized that he was unable to walk.
Then Howard smelled the most awful aroma of his life. It was the scent of burning flesh.
As he lifted his face, he spotted the source. A North Vietnamese soldier had emerged from the edge of the jungle carrying a flamethrower, and was liberally dosing downed recon men with liquid flames.
Men were screaming as their combat fatigues erupted into flames. Others lay moaning, with smoke billowing from their charred bodies.
His body throbbing with pain, Howard now feared the worst. ‘I don’t want to be burned alive!’ he thought.
His hands fumbled, searching for something he could use to defend himself. His numb, bloody, and clumsy fingers finally came to rest on a hand grenade still dangling from the side of his shredded web gear.
Pulling it free with his left hand, he tried tugging on the pin with two of his lacerated right fingers. Seconds seemed an eternity as he struggled to activate his grenade.
Wounded in numerous places, Bob Howard has just returned from a recon mission on November 19, 1968. He is carrying a Vietnamese prisoner of war he captured in the field
Howard carried the NVA soldier back into camp for interrogation
‘I may just have to pull the pin with my teeth,’ he thought.
As he grappled with the weapon, Howard suddenly saw the NVA soldier turn. His peripheral vision had obviously caught the movements of the bloodied Green Beret lying a short distance from him.
The two soldiers made direct eye contact. In that split second, Bob realized the finality of the standoff he faced. ‘He had a look of determination and hate on his face. He had an evil look in his eye, like “I’m going to kill you”,’ he said.
In that horrible instant, Howard contemplated taking his own life. ‘I’ll blow myself up before he can burn me up,’ he thought.
Two of his fingers hung limp and useless, but with great effort he finally managed to extract the pin. Clutching the live grenade with one hand, he stared down the cold-blooded killer who now faced him.
A sly trademark smirk eased across Howard’s face.
‘I’ve got you!’ he said to himself.
In what appeared to be his own moment of death, Howard realized he now had a fighting chance to take out his opponent. The NVA soldier was smart enough to realize that even if this American killed himself with the grenade, the blast would rip through his body as well.
In this macabre scene, Howard was swept by a wave of dark humor.
The North Vietnamese man grinned back at Howard, perhaps showing a slight nod of respect to the Green Beret who refused to be roasted without a fight.
As bullets sprayed the area from an unseen gun beyond Howard, the NVA soldier then lowered his flamethrower and quickly took steps back toward the protection of the jungle forest cover.
For some reason, Howard chose not to lob the grenade and kill this man. He later wondered if the NVA soldier decided not to burn him because of how pitiful he already appeared.
Perhaps it was the split-second acknowledgment via eye contact that the two warriors had shared. But this opponent had moved away without finishing him off. So Howard merely tossed the live grenade in the general direction of his fleeing killer.
SFC Howard is pinned with the 1st Oak Leaf Cluster to his Distinguished Service Cross by Lieutenant General Frank T Mildren in 1969. The scars from a 1965 bullet wound that smashed through his jaw are still visible on his right cheek
Howard receives his Medal of Honor in the White House from President Nixon on March 2, 1971
He holds the distinction of being the only soldier nominated for the Medal of Honor three times over a 13-month period
Only as he began crawling away did he begin to realize the full extent of how badly hit his body was.
Pain raced through his torn hands, legs, ankle, head, and groin. He was unable to stand, but as soon as his grenade exploded, he was on the move, pulling himself back toward his screaming comrades.
Time and time again, Bob Howard survived missions like this that should have claimed his life.
On another occasion, already wounded by shrapnel, he and his commander ran across an open field to help rescue survivors of an American helicopter crash.
Howard calmly shot down charging NVA soldiers as he worked to pull wounded aviators from the blazing wreckage.
And on another, with his jaw shattered by a bullet and fearing he was mortally wounded, he hid himself in an open Vietnamese grave.
Pressed tightly against a rotting corpse as maggots crawled over his face and under his collar, he stayed still for hours, drifting in and out of consciousness as he waited for the shooting to die down.
His military medical records would later show that, over the course of his service, he suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his face, head, both legs, and right foot.
He endured spinal injuries, a nasal fracture, and shrapnel and blast wounds to his neck, face, buttocks, hands, and legs.
By his own count, Bob Howard was wounded in action 14 different times during his four tours of duty in Vietnam.
The US Army officially processed only eight Purple Hearts for his wounds, as he never bothered to submit paperwork for some of them.
He holds the distinction of being the only soldier nominated for the Medal of Honor three times over a 13-month period.
With more than 50 awards and ribbons for valor and distinctive service in combat, he is the most decorated Green Beret.
Those who fought alongside him wondered if he had a special charm, or maybe even a deal with the devil. But they all agreed: he was the bravest man they had ever met.
From BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY: The Life of Colonel Robert Howard, America’s Most Decorated Green Beret by Stephen L. Moore, to be published on December 3, 2024 by Dutton Caliber, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright (c) 2024 by Stephen L. Moore.
