Army Ranger Captain Shay Howard

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Major Howard Visits Forsan High School

I (Bob Fishback) had the privilege of listening to Captain Howard several times as he explained his role in Iraq and patiently answered questions of Jr. High and High School classes at Forsan. I will pass on to you his words as best I can remember.

Captain Howard is the Commander of Delta Battery 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment. He has 165 personnel under his command. On 3-26-03 he was among one thousand men in twenty Air Force C17 aircraft. They crossed into Iraqi airspace at 30,000 feet and at this point the planes went into a very serious descent to an altitude of three thousand feet. He explained to the students that anything not strapped down would have been stuck to the roof of the aircraft. Several men threw up under the extreme conditions. They jokingly teased these men calling them "girls". Once in the drop zone all twenty planes unloaded their paratroopers. Shay said the last thing he saw before he stepped out into complete darkness was the American flag hanging inside the C17 and it was beautiful. He had sincere respect for the pilots and the job they did, but.... his plane was the only one that dropped its men in the wrong area. They were dropped five miles north of the airport they were to take. Students asked him what it was like when he jumped. Shay estimated that when he jumped out of the C17 he weighed around five hundred pounds with all the gear attached to him. He told them they jumped at 11:00 P.M. and that it was total darkness and yes he was scared. It was impossible to see the ground so he had no idea when he would hit, but he said it was the softest landing he had ever made. When he rolled over and stood up he sunk into mud up to his knees. It took them twelve hours to march five miles to their objective and the mud was knee deep all the way.

They took the airport. He did not go into detail about the fighting but said they did not sleep for the first three days. He also said they didn't get their first shower for three months. Everyone stunk so bad you just got used to it and didn't notice. During the war an average day was sixteen to twenty hours of patrolling and completing specific missions. The kids would always ask what weapons he carried. I can not remember all the numeric names of the weapons, but I do know he carried a pistol and machine gun. They had several 105 canons that had a barrel about 19 feet long. They had a range of twenty miles and are very accurate. In Coach Park's math class one student asked if he ever uses math. Captain Howard fired back, "every day". That is how they come up with their firing solutions. Coach Park had a grin a mile wide. He was Shay's Algebra teacher.

Once things were under control in Iraq, Captain Howard was made the mayor of three towns. He commented several times how he wished he had not slept through government class. He and his men set up Iraqi city councils in each town and started new city governments. Shay said the Kurds, Turks, and Iraqi people were very nice and would offer them all they had. They were extremely glad the Americans were there. The media in the States only shows the few bad people, but he said the majority were very thankful that the Americans had liberated them. Everywhere they went crowds of people, especially kids, would surround them. Many people's homes have nothing and only straw to sleep on, but they would offer it to Shay and his men. The children wear a sheet wrapped around them and have no shoes. There is no grass, only rough, rocky land. The kids play soccer religiously. They stack up rocks to make a goal. The women and children do most of the work while the men sit around and visit. It is a way of life that will take many years to change. Children work all day in the fields and then carry very heavy loads from the farm. After a full days work they go to school for a couple of hours in buildings that have dirt floors, no windows, or any of the basic things we take for granted every day here in the states.

Shay is very proud of his men and women. Most are 17 to 20 and they are very proud of what they have done - cleaning up the towns and getting hospitals, schools, and basic city functions working that the Iraqi's have never had. Before the Americans arrived those who spoke against Sadam Hussein were killed along with their family. Captain Howard and his men paved the way for a new- found freedom of speech for the Iraqi people.

I was apprehensive about asking Shay if he had lost any of his men, but I did. One of his men was killed by an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) on a bridge. From his expression and what he said, it was like losing a brother. Shay wears a wrist band with the name of that soldier engraved on it. He said he loves his men. They spend all their time together and depend on each other for survival every day. He mentioned that men who you normally would not be able to stand because of personality conflicts, you learn to love. In combat they are one very close team depending on each other.

Shay gave me a CD of movies the Army gave him. One of the movies is of the memorial service for his lost soldier. I watched it and it breaks your heart. These men love him and each would give his life for his buddy in a heartbeat without question.

I was proud of Shay. In every class he visited someone would ask if he killed anyone. Captain Howard would never answer and would respond that it wasn't an appropriate question. From his reaction I would suspect that any true warrior would not discuss or brag about that aspect of his job. He would tell the students that they were trained to do a job and they did it.

Captain Howard represents everything that is good and right about America. He is a man dedicated to doing the right thing. Life seems to get so complicated, but it always boils down to good vs. evil, right vs. wrong. Shay will always be on the good and right side, no riding the fence. Being a former teacher of Captain Howard, I have a special appreciation and love for him as do many other teachers at Forsan ISD. Shay is a product of his family, church, Forsan ISD, and the Forsan community. We all had a small part in molding Shay, but what an honor and privilege it is to see what he has done with his life. It makes me proud to be part of a great school, community, and above all, a great nation!