#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Jesse S. Howard

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Jesse S. Howard. Jesse served from 1965 to 1968.

After graduating high school, Jesse enlisted in the Army. Jesse went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for boot camp and really enjoyed it. He remembers one of his instructors fondly because although he was scared of him, this sergeant was also able to instill him with confidence and the idea that he could beat the world. Jesse felt this was a necessary attitude to have in the military. After Jesse completed training, he was sent to Hanau, Germany. He flew in a plane over there, and since he was deathly afraid of heights, he tried to convince the pilot to land and let him off.

When Jesse was in Germany, he was responsible for fixing TD-24 bulldozers and anything else that needed fixing. At one point, he was working on a tractor when it was very cold. The tractor had a winch on it and Jesse got his hands frozen to the winch, and in order to free his hands, Jesse had to have someone get cold water and run it over his hands. Jesse wrote letters to his mom whenever he could, and she often sent him cookies, which were often just crumbs by the time they arrived in Germany. Jesse returned home in 1968 and was discharged. He went to work for a company he had worked for before joining the service and later worked with the United Parcel Service. Jesse is a member of the American Legion and believes his time in the Army helped him prepare for life.

Thank you for your service, Jesse!

More of his story can be found at http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.58946/

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Veterans History Project

This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

Graphic by Cynthia Tong: Cynthia is a senior at New York University studying Public Policy.