Col. Howard Froman

Col. Howard """"Howie"""" W. Froman, PhD, age 88, of Biloxi, passed away on Friday, September 25, 2009 in Ocean Springs.
He was born March 26, 1921 in Marengo, Indiana. He grew up in Urbana, Illinois and graduated from Urbana High School in 1940. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at Chanute Field, Illinois on February 11, 1941. After assignments at Ft. Logan, Colorado and Morrison Field in West Palm Beach, Florida, he went to officer candidate school in Miami Beach, Florida and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant on October 28, 1942.
He was assigned to Hamilton Field, California and soon after began flight training at Santa Ana, California (pre-flight), Rankin Academy, Tulare, California, Minter Field, Bakersfield, California and got his wings at Ft. Sumner, New Mexico in January, 1944. He was designated a Naval Aviator in Pensacola, Florida in May, 1944, where he learned to fly a PBY. Col. Froman continued his training at the Air/Sea Rescue School at Keesler Air Force Base in 1945. He learned to fly the C-54 at the Berlin Airlift School, Great Falls, Montana in 1949, the SA-10 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida in 1951, and the T-33 at Craig Air Force Base, Alabama in 1953. He also attended the Air Tactical School in Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, the Air War College Seminar Program from 1963-1964 at the Pentagon and took courses from the Air Command and Staff School at Norton Air Force Base, Alabama.
During his 28 years of military service, Col. Froman flew combat missions and air/sea rescue missions during WWII out of Clark Air Force Base, Philippines. He picked up air crews who had been shot down, even at times when he was at great risk, earning him a Silver Star for his service. He also flew an SA-16 to Tokyo, Japan in the Korean Conflict. He was stationed at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. from 1960-1965 when he was sent to Naples, Italy where he served for three years with NATO as the Strategic Air Planning Director for the Allied Forces in Southern Europe.
While on active duty, Col. Froman obtained a Bachelors Degree in Social Studies at Syracuse University, New York, a Masters Degree in Business Management at the University of Colorado, a Masters Degree in History and a PhD in History from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
When he retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1971, Col. Froman began teaching at MGCCC, Jefferson Davis Campus, Gulfport where he taught Economics, Management, Introduction to Business, and Business Law. In 1980, he transferred to the Jackson County Campus in Gautier where he taught Political Science for nine years and World Civilization for ten years before retiring from teaching in 1991. He became a historian, writing several books and was commissioned to write the history of Keesler Federal Credit Union on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 1997.
Col. Froman was a member of the First Baptist Church of Biloxi. He was involved with the Daedalians, the Quiet Birdmen (QB's), the Military Officers Association of America (formerly TROA), was a member of Harry A Truman Masonic Lodge, Naples, Italy, and a member of the American Legion. He was an avid golfer and played often in his retirement years. He also did volunteer with the retirees activity office at Keesler AFB.
Col. Froman was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence Douglas and Agnes Ethel Baylor Froman, a sister, Ruth E. KleinSmid, and a brother, Gerald C. Froman. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Myrtice E. """"Nita"""" Froman, Biloxi and a daughter, Pamela Stanovich of Biloxi.
Graveside services, with full military honors, will be held at 11 am Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at Southern Memorial Park in Biloxi.
The RIEMANN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, 274 Beauvoir Rd., Biloxi in charge of arrangements and an online guestbook may be signed at www.riemannfamily.com