King High Remembers: Howard Louis

BeachBy: Jennifer Cuevas, Cobi Hopkins, Rachel

Woods

Background:State of Birth: WisconsinBorn on June 8, 1925Attended the University of Wisconsin for 2 yrs.

But dropped outHas been happily married for 64 years since 1948

and has 5 successful children and 11 grandchildren

He was 18 when he joined the armyEnlisted June 19, 1943Dates of Service: 1943-1945 (2yrs. 4months and

10 days)Branch of Service: Army

Battles:World War II:

Battle of BulgeNormandy Invasion

World War II CampaignsBattle of Bulge Normandy Invasion

Battle of Bulge • Commanded by Captain Filmore Ortof (replaced

Captain James Long)• Started on the night of December 16, 1944• He was in a unit of 2 squads of 12 men each• They encountered pockets of young paratroopers

who were a combination of fanatic, confused and ineffective

• Main goal: to capture Antwerp • Germans began their attack on the third day and

as a result Beach and his partner suffered minor brain concussions before achieving victory

D-Day, The Battle of Normandy Commanded by Generals: Louis A. Craig and Jessie A. LaddHe was assigned to the Ninth Reconnaissance Cavalry

Troop of the Ninth Infantry DivisionHis assignment was to be radio man/ turret gunner in an

M8 armored carAll his combatants either got extremely wounded or

suffered from traumatic stress except for himCertain code names were used to tell the army how to

attack and to prevent the opponent from knowing what they were doingOperation overloard: Invade the northwest of EuropeOperation Neptune: began the main invasion of Normandy

When he first started the army…Tried joining the marines but wasn’t

accepted because of his sightVoluntarily signed up for the army and they

called him when they needed himStarted as only a potato peeler and then

became a meat slicer they sent him to radio school to learn Morse

codeHis reaction to the first day of combat: “The

terror was as enormous as we could have imagined, if not more so.”

Howie Beach- “Eager to Serve”July, 1943

Morse CodeMorse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment.

Places Beach has traveled….He has attended camps in:

IllinoisWisconsinTexasBostonEnglandIndianaAnd several others….

NarrativeHowie Beach signed up for the army at the age of 18 but didn’t get in because of his sight. He then voluntarily applied for the army for whenever they needed him. He started off in KP(kitchen patrol) as only a potato peeler and worked himself up to a stone cold killer in the front line of troops. One day in KP everyone in the service was sent to radio school to learn Morse Code. Howie caught on fast and was drafted immediately. He told us many war stories in Germany and described his experiences in combat. They would have to go long periods of time without eating and still remained physically strong. “It was so cold in Belgium when I got injured I couldn’t even feel the pain at the time.” They migrated in groups of 12 to keep a low profile and sometimes when they would capture a German and seek information rather than kill him.

Narrative Cntd…In certain places, large groups of drunk Germans waited for the Americans. The Americans used flame throwers to easily kill these enemies. The group of 12 later got separated into a group of five. His group of five ended up going against 90 Germans and he was the only survivor. “I remember running to safety and feeling the wind of the bullets brush past my shoulders. I’m just lucky to be alive.” One of his good friends was shot by mistake from a fellow American. When trying to escape a German plane in a jeep with four Americans, Howard had no other choice but to shoot the plane down. Luckily for him the plane ran out of ammo. After his time in combat he got to meet some Russians and Germans and he came to the realization that they were people just like our Americans. Therefore, he was not necessarily proud of all the people he had killed.

War Attire

War Equipment • Our veteran said his

main weapon was the Garand M1 rifle and it was “truly a remarkable weapon”

• The carbine M1 was another exceptional weapon in our Army’s arsenal

• “German machine guns were probably the best during the period”

Howard Beach’s Certification of Military Service

FamilyHe has been happily married

for sixty-four years He had five children, eleven

grandchildren, and four sisters

Two of his grandchildren were born in Sweden

One of his grandchildren is an amazing athlete who is currently playing college football and baseball on a full ride scholarship

Letters to Family

Howie Beach at King High Remembers

Q: Why did you join the service?A: Felt it my duty to fight against any enemy threat to America. I signed a voluntary induction.

Achievements•Highest Rank: Technician Five•Earned five battle stars•Only got wounded three times and survived many intense series of combat.•Only survivor in his group of five against a group of ninety Germans•Got the silver star

– 3rd highest award in the military

Interesting Facts about Howie:He was left handed which gave him an

edge in combathe was an athletic runnerHe met Tom HanksHe chose to not to smoke even though allhis buddies and family did

Interesting Facts Cont.Mr. Beach wrote a book

about his war experiences called “The Private War of Howie Beach”

He has a wonderful sense of humor even to this day

Previous Occupation: Milwaukee Paperboy

Thank you for voluntarily serving our country Mr. Beach!