Edwin B. Howard

Who was Edwin B. Howard?

Edwin B. Howard, Brigadier General, was born in Harlan, Kentucky and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1923. From 1935 to 1937, Howard attended Infantry and Tank School at Fort Benning, Georgia. From 1937 to 1938, he attended attended Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

During the Second World War, Howard was Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence in the Fifth United States Army under General Mark Wayne Clark.

From 1951 to 1954 Howard was Chief of Intelligence of the Allied Land Forces in Central Europe.

Upon his retirement from the Army in 1954, Howard became a consultant for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Due to his intelligence experience, the INS Commissioner, General J.M. Swing, wanted Howard to become Assistant Commissioner. This required a special bill from Congress because former military officers were prohibited by law from holding positions in the INS. The bill was passed, despite the opposition of some Congressmen who felt the INS was being taken over by the military.