In December 1968, midway through the Vietnam War and deep in the jungles of Laos, Special Forces scout Colonel Robert Howard and his platoon were on a rescue mission when they encountered a devastating ambush.
He was blown ten feet high by a powerful grenade blast, suffered a concussion, bled from multiple shrapnel wounds and was unable to walk.
What happened next, and throughout his distinguished military career, made Howard the most decorated Green Beret in history.
Now his story is being told in its entirety for the first time Beyond the call of dutypublished today.
Bob Howard’s eyes opened to a blurry, chaotic scene.
The smell of smoke and gunpowder was strong. His ears were ringing, but slowly he became aware of an infernal orchestra of battle sounds all around him: chattering machine guns, barking rifles, shouts and deafening grenade explosions.
He tried to concentrate on the scene around him. But everything was blurry, clouded by a strange red film. Bob said silent prayers, worried that he had been blinded by the terrible explosion.
His body ached all over. He wiped his eyes, saw red on his hands and realized his vision was obscured by shrapnel to his head. Blood dripped down his forehead into his eyes.
Howard is the most decorated Green Beret in history – this 1971 photo shows the Medal of Honor around his neck
Bob Howard (left) with his team leader, Staff Sergeant Paul Poole on a reconnaissance patrol in late 1967 – a year before the devastating ambush in Laos
He carefully felt around his body. His legs ached and his hands felt like they were on fire. A quick glance showed ugly cuts from shrapnel. Two fingers hung limp.
As his vision focused, he saw his gun lying nearby, a useless piece of twisted aluminum and steel.
Howard tried to move his legs, but stabs of pain greeted his efforts. Hot shards of metal debris from the grenade had cut into both legs and his groin.
Near his right ankle, a bullet or piece of shrapnel had torn through his foot. As he tried to move, he realized he could no longer walk.
Then Howard smelled the worst smell of his life. It was the smell of burning flesh.
As he lifted his face, he saw the source. A North Vietnamese soldier had emerged from the edge of the jungle with a flamethrower in his hand and was liberally shooting down reconnaissance men with liquid flames.
Men screamed as their battle gear burst into flames. Others lay groaning as smoke poured from their charred bodies.
As his body throbbed in pain, Howard now feared the worst. “I don’t want to be burned alive!” he thought.
His hands searched for something to defend himself with. His numb, bloody and clumsy fingers finally landed on a hand grenade still dangling from the side of his shredded web gear.
He pulled it free with his left hand and tried to pull the pin with two of his torn right fingers. Seconds seemed like an eternity as he struggled to activate his grenade.
Bob Howard has been wounded in numerous places and has just returned from a reconnaissance mission on November 19, 1968. He is transporting a Vietnamese POW he captured in the field.
Howard carried the NVA soldier back to the camp for questioning
‘Maybe I should just pull the pin out with my teeth,’ he thought.
As he struggled with the weapon, Howard suddenly saw the NVA soldier turn around. His field of vision had clearly detected the movements of the bloodied Green Beret lying a short distance away from him.
The two soldiers made direct eye contact. In that split second, Bob realized the finality of the impasse he faced. ‘He had a look of determination and hatred on his face. He had an angry look in his eyes, as if he was saying, “I’m going to kill you.”
In that terrible moment, Howard contemplated suicide. ‘I’ll blow myself up before he can burn me,’ he thought.
Two of his fingers hung limp and useless, but with great effort he finally managed to pull out the pin. He held the live grenade with one hand and stared at the cold-blooded killer who now stood before him.
A sly trademark grin appeared on Howard’s face.
“I got you!” he said to himself.
In what seemed to be his own moment of death, Howard realized he now had a chance to eliminate his opponent. The NVA soldier was smart enough to realize that even if this American were to commit suicide with the grenade, the explosion would rip through his body as well.
In this macabre scene, Howard was overcome by a wave of dark humor.
The North Vietnamese man grinned back at Howard, perhaps showing a small nod of respect to the Green Beret, who refused to be roasted without a fight.
As bullets peppered the area from an invisible cannon behind Howard, the NVA soldier lowered his flamethrower and quickly took steps back toward the jungle protection.
For some reason Howard chose not to throw the grenade and kill this man. Later he wondered whether the NVA soldier had decided not to burn him because he already looked pathetic.
Perhaps it was the split-second acknowledgment through eye contact that the two warriors had shared. But this opponent had left without finishing him. So Howard just threw the grenade in the general direction of his fleeing killer.
SFC Howard was awarded the 1st Oak Leaf Cluster to his Distinguished Service Cross by Lt. Gen. Frank T. Mildren in 1969. The scars from a 1965 gunshot wound through his jaw are still visible on his right cheek
Howard received his Medal of Honor from President Nixon at the White House on March 2, 1971
He has the distinction of being the only soldier to be nominated for the Medal of Honor three times in a thirteen-month period
It wasn’t until he started crawling away that he began to realize the full extent of how badly his body had been affected.
Pain ripped through his torn hands, legs, ankle, head and groin. He could not get up, but as soon as his grenade exploded he was on the move, retreating to his screaming comrades.
Time and time again, Bob Howard survived missions like this that should have claimed his life.
On another occasion, he and his commander, already wounded by shrapnel, ran across an open field to rescue survivors of an American helicopter crash.
Howard calmly shot down attacking NVA soldiers as he worked to pull wounded pilots from the burning wreckage.
And on the other side, with his jaw shattered by a bullet and fearing he would be 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 lay still for hours, drifting in and out of consciousness as he waited for the shooting to subside.
His military medical records would later reveal that he suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his face, head, both legs and right foot while in service.
He suffered 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 fourteen times during his four tours of duty in Vietnam.
The U.S. Army officially processed only eight Purple Hearts for his wounds because he never bothered to file paperwork for some of them.
He has the distinction of being the only soldier to be nominated for the Medal of Honor three times in a thirteen-month period.
With more than 50 awards and ribbons for bravery and distinguished service in combat, he is the most decorated Green Beret.
Those who fought alongside him wondered if he had a special charm, or perhaps 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, will 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.