By Rick Wright
Staff Writer

  Earle A. Howard Sr. will have to make room in his already full trophy case.
On Friday, Howard will add one more distinction to his collection – the French Legion of Honor medal. Awarded by the French government, the medal is the highest honor given by France.
 Howard decided to apply for the medal after he saw an announcement in a veterans’ magazine last winter. Last month, he was notified by the French ambassador to the U.S. that his application was approved.
  Only 100 people will get the Legion of Honor medal this year, Howard said.
“I’m overwhelmed because it is a medal that is very hard to get,” Howard said. “I didn’t do much more than many other boys believe me, but I’m proud to be recognized.”
The World War II veteran has received several medals, including the Purple Heart, Maine Silver Star, Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge.
Howard, 86, is being given the Legion of Honor medal because he helped liberate France from German occupation during the war.
“They call the people in the World War II era, the ‘greatest generation.’ I am proud to be included as one of them. I’m sure it is because of our fight for freedom with the suffering of the military and the great help on the home front,” Howard said.
  A staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, Howard was stationed in Europe and fought in many of the war’s bloodiest battles, including the campaign through the hedgerows of Normandy and Battle of the Bulge.
Howard, a South Portland resident, was nearly killed when his jeep was obliterated by an artillery shell moments after he left it. During the Allied advance into Germany, he was wounded by enemy fire and flown to a hospital in France to recuperate.
While Howard was recovering in the hospital, the war in Europe ended. He rejoined his unit, the 2nd Infantry Division, in Czechoslovakia before returning home to Maine.
“I know he’s very proud of the service that he gave. He also feels very blessed and thankful that he was able to come home and lead such a long and fruitful life,” said Cynthia McAllister, Howard’s daughter.
The French Consul General from the French Consulate in Boston will present the medal to Howard at a ceremony at the Maine Military Museum’s Annex in South Portland.
A large crowd of friends, family members, veterans and other well-wishers is expected to be on hand including Gen. Bill Libby, head of the Maine Army National Guard.
 
Howard served in the army from 1943 to 1945. Entering the military when he was 20, he left behind his young wife, Virginia, and his 6-month-old son in Portland’s Munjoy Hill neighborhood.
Before his induction to the military, Howard worked in South Portland shipyards building Liberty Ships that transported troops, ammunition, weapons and supplies to Europe.
After being discharged from the army, Howard got a job as a salesman for Wigon Office Supplies in Portland.
Howard still works for Wigon, and makes regular calls to his customers from his home in South Portland. He’s been with the company 65 years.
“I enjoy talking to the people,” Howard said. “They’re almost like family when you go second and third generation.”
Lee Humiston, curator of the Maine Military Museum, is providing the facility’s function room free of charge for Howard’s special event.
“He’s part of a past in this country that I’ll never let anybody forget, not as long as I draw a breath,” Humiston said.
 
 Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.