Howard Albert Holt Jr.
CPL in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : Co C
ASN#13081467
Born 1921 in IL, Died 2008
Artist
Place of enlistment: Wilkes-Barre, PA
Other residence(s): Chicago, IL; Scranton, PA; Clarks Summit, PA; Forty Fort, PA; Silver Spring, MD; Vienna, VA; Kingston, PA; Fairfax, VA
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: commercial artist
Howard Holt was born on May 17, 1921 in Chicago, IL, the oldest of five children. His father was a millinery buyer.
He grew up in Scranton, PA and later in Clarks Summit and Clarks Green, Scranton suburbs, graduating from Clarks Summit-Clarks Green High School (later Abingdon Heights HS) in 1940. He likely went on to further study of some sort, since his February 16, 1942 draft registration says that he was an “unemployed student.” He appears to have joined the Pennsylvania National Guard for a few months in March, 1942. By the time he enlisted, on May 21, 1942, he was working as a commercial artist.
Like other artists in the Northeast, Howard was assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion, and went to Europe with the unit. (Howard wrote down a number of descriptive comments about other members of his unit, many of which appear on their biography pages on this website!) He was discharged on October 15, 1945 at Camp Shelby, MS, and returned to Pennsylvania.
Howard and Rosemary on their wedding day; photo courtesy legacy.com
He and Rosemary would go on to have four children: Debbie, Howard III, Glen, and Michaele.
Over the following years, Howard continued to work in graphic design and advertising. He spent time in the 1940s at the Morse Advertising Agency and the Gann Agency before taking a job at the Lynn-Fieldhouse Ad Agency in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
He made a shift into print production, taking positions as VP of sales for Rose Printing Co. in Tallahassee, FL and as Washington regional manager for the Eureka-Carlisle Division of Litton Industries. The family had relocated to Silver Spring, MD by this time.
In 1967 he became the sales manager for Hagerstown Bookbinding and Printing Company, which was a major producer of advertising and merchandising materials in all 50 states. He remained in the Maryland/Virginia area for much of the rest of his career. But by 1988, he was back in Pennsylvania, working as a marketing executive for Panel Print, Inc. in Old Forge.
Howard was an artist, a writer, and a musician, playing the guitar and drums. He composed a number of songs which were featured on radio, stage, and in entertainment spots in Pennsylvania. A 1952 newspaper article reports that his musical composition, “Why Should It End So Soon?,” was being performed by Lee Vincent and his orchestra at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, NJ.
In retirement, Howard and Rosemary settled in Fairfax, VA. He died in Washington, DC on August 8, 2008, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
His online obituary guest book entries talk over and over about his smile and sense of humor. They also describe his kindness and generosity and his loving and welcoming attitude.
And music, always music! A friend of his children commented: “You were always so kind, gracious, and encouraging to us as musical youngsters on Waples Mill Road. Did I mention patient, as well? Putting up with our racket in your basement for years on end is a testimony to your sainthood.” And another poster had this to say: “Your dad was a gentle and sweet man. Although I only met him a few times, we hit a common chord together: our love of jazz and especially Big Band music. It was fun to exchange stories about the bands and their music, and to trade some CDs for cassette tapes, and his deep insights into particular songs that he put on paper for me. Anyone who feels music as deeply as he did definitely knew the pleasures of life.”
Sources:
1921 Illinois birth record
1930 census
1940 census
1940 high school yearbook (includes photo)
1942 draft card
1942 Pennsylvania National Guard service cards
1942 enlistment record
1949 marriage announcement in The Scranton Times (PA)
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-tribune-marriage-of-omalley/196399384/
1949 marriage record
1950 Pennsylvania Veteran Compensation Files
1952 article in the Times-Tribune (Scranton PA) about his musical compositions
https://www.newspapers.com/image/532807943/?match=1&terms=howard%20holt
1967 article in the Herald-Mail (Hagerstown MD) about his career
https://www.newspapers.com/image/28261399/?match=1&terms=howard%20holt
1988 article in The Scranton Times (PA) about his life and military service (including extensive material on the Ghost Army)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/531389723/?match=1&terms=howard%20holt
2008 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49206488/howard-a-holt
2008 obituary in the Times-Tribune (Scranton PA)
2008 obituary
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/howard-holt-obituary?id=24153616
2008 family tribute notice (including photo) in the Times-Tribune (Scranton PA)
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-tribune-howard-holt/201415965/