Curtis T. Howard II
Staff Sergeant, United States Army
June 18, 1973 – February 22, 2006
Age – 32
Ann Arbor, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom
1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO
Died of wounds received when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle near Balad, Iraq
HOWARD, STAFF SERGEANT CURTIS TYRONE II, “LIL CURT”, 32, served his country with honor and distinction in Iraq and Kuwait.
Curtis attended Ann Arbor Public Schools and graduated from Huron High School in 1991. While at Huron, he excelled as an athlete and was a member of the varsity basketball team. After graduation, Curtis attended Alabama State University in Montgomery, AL. His father had served in the Army and Curtis followed his dad’s footsteps and enlisted in the United States Army on April 28, 1993. He was a military man, a professional soldier who was dedicated and committed to his family and to his country. He was stationed at Ft. Carson, CO. and served in Bosnia, Kuwait, South Korea and Iraq.
He was stationed at Ft. Carson, CO. and served in Bosnia, Kuwait, South Korea and Iraq. Curtis married Icela on August 24, 1994 in Junction City, Kansas. He leaves to cherish his memory two sons, Dominic and Christion, and two daughters Tatiana and Valencia.
He was remembered by his father –
On the day of February 22, 2006 our lives were changed forever. Our son SSG Curtis T. Howard, II lost his life, along with SGT Gordon F. Misner, II and SPC Thomas J. Wilwerth, they left that evening on a recovery mission. On the return trip an Improvised Explosive Device cut short the lives of these young men.
We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice Curtis and the others made for our country and for us. The war, and this loss, will be with us the rest of our lives. But rather than dwell in sadness, let us learn from his courage and strength displayed. Curtis will always be remembered and honored along with those brave men and women who have fallen in battle. But he did not die in vain.
As we reflect this day, we recall his broad smile and his laugh. There is not a day when I don’t think about him, sometimes shedding some tears. But today after receiving the news six years ago, I am very proud of his life and his legacy. May God continue to give us the strength to face each day.
Love, Dad
Curtis T. Howard
February 22, 2012
He was remembered by a fellow soldier with these words.
I served with Sgt. Howard in Kosovo we were really good friends back in Vilseck, Germany. Me and my wife got engaged at his house in Germany back in 1999. It was fun playing flag football with him and going out on many training exercises with the unit. I knew him as a great leader, husband to his wife, and father. I heard about this back in the summer of 08 and it still hurts to know that we lost a good one. The last time I saw him was when he was in Master Gunner School at Fort Benning, Ga and had to go back early to deploy to Iraq. We had plans to watch the 2003 Super Bowl at my house. He will be truly missed. And may God be with his family and most of all his kids.”
Marcus Fuqua of Hohenfels, Germany