Jack Howel of Kansas City, MO served as a Navigator with the 301st Bomb Group in the ETO when his B-17 went down in a mission over Germany in Feb. 1944, he spent the remainder of WWII as a prisoner of the Luftwaffe. He returned to service in the AAF/AF and again saw combat in the Korean War. I beliebe but have not verified that Howel flew further combat missions in Vietnam!
The 90th Bomb Squadron flew radar equiped B-26's and was designated a Light Night Intruder squadron. This quote from the web can be found at the link!
"...their training focused on RADAR & SHORAN, they became the Night Intruders, the radar and electronic eyes of the Tactical Air Force. This was the only B-26 squadron trained in this fashion."
His A2 has expertly period replace cuffs and I believe the lining as well and is in superb condition for it's age. Not tagged, it easily fits me and I wear a 44L A2! The AAF decal on the shoulder is rough but legible, the back paint and squadron patch are superb! The leather name tag reads JACK A. HOWEL and rests above a fine embroidered squadron patch that I believe is Japanese made. The back painting for the 90th Bomb Squadron is dated 1952 with a fine rendition of Howel's plane. The jacket is accompanied by several period photo's of Korea that includes aviation men and crew shots.
A great jacket that last changed hands from George Peterson in 2005. I've handled a few dozen painted WWII A2's and perhaps 3? from the Korean War!
