David W Howe was born on 6 February 1919 at East Hickory, Pennsylvania. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 in Toronto, Canada, and earned his wings as a Sergeant Pilot on 8 October 1942.

He transferred to the USAAF on 3 June 1943, and was assigned to the 4th Fighter Group, 334th Squadron, in September.

Flying a P-47 Thunderbolt, he downed his first enemy aircraft, an Fw-190, in February 1944. In March, flying a P-51 Mustang, he downed two more Luftwaffe planes, and on 19 May, with additional victories he became an "Ace". He had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Air Medal with 13 Oak Leaf Clusters.

In April 1945, as a Captain, he returned to the States. He was the first pilot in the 8th Fighter Command to complete two combat tours without an abort, a total of 502 combat hours.

He left the service in August 1945 having 8.5 enemy aircraft to his credit.

He obtained a civilian commercial pilot rating and later became a test pilot with Bell Aircraft. He flew eight types of jets, including two VTOL Vertical Takeoff and Landing) types. He was the first pilot of the X-14, and also piloted the hydro-skimmer on Lake Erie.

He retired in 1981 and died of a massive stroke in May 1995.He was a candidate in the National Aviation Hall of Fame. In 1992 he was inducted in the Niagara Falls Aviation Hall of Fame.