World War II and beyond, Howard Warren

The Green Ridge class of 1940 searched for classmate Howard Warren for 50 years. When they finally found him, they were blown away by where he had been and what he had been doing.

Warren was drafted on Jan. 9, 1943. He went to the Pettis County Courthouse and asked to see the Navy chief, because he wanted to be in the Navy like his brother. He was told no one was allowed to sign up for anything but the Army. This was because the Navy, Air Corps and Marines were already flooded with new recruits.

He went to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and later to Atlantic City, N.J., where he took a series of tests. He performed well and was surprised when a first lieutenant called him into his office. He said Warren was selected for pilot training.

Warren was excited to train with the Army Air Corps. He had just learned how to fly, when he was told they were overloaded with pilots, so he was sent to radio operator maintenance school.

“I was now in intelligence and didn’t know it,” Warren said.

WORLD WAR II
He was sent to Europe and had top secret clearance as a corporal. He was placed in a small room and given orders to keep track of all of the U.S. aircraft over Great Britain. He was expected to be able to tell the general at any given time how many B-24s, P-17s, C-47s and other aircraft there were in the country. He did this for about a year.

Then he was sent over to a building where secret things were being done with aircraft. Everything from sealer plates to cameras were installed. Warren worked in aircraft support and went to photography school.

After the war was over, he was in Germany and stationed about 12 miles from Hitler’s home. A single-engine aircraft was left abandoned in a field. Warren asked his boss if he could fly it and was quickly told “No!”

One day Warren walked to the field, looked around and didn’t see a soul. So, he got into the plane and started it up. He taxied it down the runway and flew it over the lake. Once he was in the air, he started to worry about what he had done. Now he needed to focus on landing the plane and not getting caught. He knew it was going to be a bumpy landing. The plane took five good bounces, before he got it stopped just short of the lake.

One of his buddies saw the whole thing and was laying in the field laughing. Warren went over to him and told him never to tell anyone what he just saw. By Monday, word had gotten out that somebody had flown the plane. The line chief asked Warren if it was him and Warren confessed. The line chief decided he wanted to do it too and later did. Then the following weekend, Warren, the line chief and a third man all got up in the plane. In the coming weeks, Warren flew about 50 hours all for fun.

“A lot of the things I did in the service were illegal, but it was for this country,” Warren said.
He served in Europe from 1944 to 1946.

KOREA
In Korea, he helped load six C-46 planes with photographic gear, so photos could be taken of enemy territory. He noticed some of the pictures were great, while others were awful. He asked a captain about the problem, who had an explanation. He said some of the pilots were sabotaging the photos, because they were failing to get over the target. The pilots blamed the equipment, when it was really their own fault.

Warren thought this over and asked a second lieutenant if he could meet with the base commander. He brought the photographs into the commander’s office. This resulted in a meeting of all the pilots. The commander said if he received any more pictures like that, a bunch of the men would be going some place and it wouldn’t be the United States.

Warren was promoted to master sergeant two months later.

VIETNAM
Warren worked in technical assistance in Vietnam. One day he was riding his motorcycle to work and noticed a Vietnamese man pushing his bicycle with a heavy load on the back. Warren saw the man prop the load against the Army barracks, pull some wires and leave. Warren got on his motorcycle and quickly drove to the Army base to alert officials. They were able to prevent the bomb from going off. He received the Bronze Star for his service.
His main concern was that he wouldn’t live through Vietnam, because it was difficult to figure out who could be trusted.

MAKING THINGS HAPPEN
In Saigon, he worked for a full colonel who wanted Warren to get him new two jeeps. Warren asked how it was supposed to do that and was told that was his problem to solve. He went to the base and asked to see the person in charge of getting equipment. He was told to see the colonel.

The colonel laughed at Warren’s request and said it wasn’t possible. He went on to say how he’d like to learn how to play Chinese chess.

Warren decided to take a gamble and said, “Hey Colonel, I’ll teach you to play Chinese chess, if you give me two jeeps.” The colonel laughed again. Warren told him the trick was the jeeps shouldn’t be transferred in his name.

The colonel wanted to think about it. Two weeks later, he accepted Warren’s offer.

TRAINING NEW RECRUITS
One of the most difficult things was to make sure the recruits were ready to be in the field. If a man named Harold Jones came in, Warren would say his new name was Jones Harlan. He would stress the importance of remembering this. The recruit was given a new identity complete with new identification cards and family history.

He would quiz the recruit every day for two months about everything.

“I had them all ready to go and I thought ‘My, I have a sharp one here.’ So, I’d say ‘Okay, you’re ready to go. Take off.’ He was almost to the door and I’d say, ‘Hey Jones.’ ‘Yes, sir.’ I said, ‘Well, you just died right there. I just saved your life. Come back over here.’ Man, I would chew them out,” Warren said.

Some recruits were nice about it, but some got mad at themselves for falling into Warren’s trap.

HARDSHIPS OF THE JOB
Once he was given a 45-mm film and had to deliver it to the central part of the United States. He received a phony name and was told to be very careful because the FBI was looking for him. He didn’t know what was on the film, but knew it was important to get it into the right hands.

He spent the night in a hotel and was awakened at 2 a.m. His doors were smashed open by the FBI and his room was ransacked. He played dumb and had hidden the tape in the outline of the drapes. He was taken downtown and interrogated. Warren asked if he could make a phone call. He let his superior know where he was.

Soon after, someone called the station and told them Warren was a courier and was perfectly safe. He was released, returned to the hotel, picked up the film, hit the road and delivered it.

“You had to learn to think on your feet,” he said.

His family was aware he worked in intelligence and had to accept they wouldn’t see him much. He did send them letters, when he could. He had to keep his shots up-to-date, so he could be moved at a moment’s notice. He always had to worry about being caught and rarely carried a gun.

He finally retired on Sept. 1, 1971, with the rank of chief warrant officer 4. He served 28 years, seven months and 28 days. He was married to his first wife, Letha, for 41 years.

He continued traveling with the Holiday Ramblers RV Club, before returning to Sedalia to settle down. He got married again in 1993 to an old high school classmate, Reta.

Editor's note: Mr. Warren died Oct. 26, 2009, at the age of 87.