He entered the service on 16 November 1942 from Buffalo, New York. He enlisted as a Private; he had four years of high school education, was single, without dependents and his civilian occupation was listed as: "Semiskilled occupations in manufacture of paper goods".

Howie was a member of the 437th TCG Association and was listed on their rosters from 1972 to 1994; he wrote a letter to the 437th TCG Membership Secretary which appeared in the 1988 Reunion Book