Howard Fogg: The officer…
The gentleman…
The pilot…
Summary of Action:
Captain Howard Fogg flew 76 missions and completed his combat tour with the Army Air Corp in September 1944. He was discharged from the Army in August 1945. Along with the ribbons he earned while with the 359th Fighter Group, Howard was awarded the Air Medal with three clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross with one cluster.
Well respected for his leadership skills and his focused demeanor whether flying escort or strafing trains, Howard was also tasked with teaching young pilots how to fly, both in England and upon his return to the United States. During his combat tour his commanding officers relied on him to accurately and swiftly plot numerous missions. Many inquired whether he would take up a career flying commercial aircraft following the war, but that was not where his heart led him. Instead, he pursued his art, and decades later was regularly acknowledged as the world’s foremost railroad artist.
At the height of his artistic career, when the waiting list for one of his paintings was measured in years, Howard casually mentioned to his son Richard how honored he was to have been selected to fly at President Roosevelt’s interment. He had never spoken of this before and in his typical modest fashion, Howard said, “you could tell which plane was mine, it was the one slightly out of formation.”
But Howard rarely flew out of formation, either in his plane on that long-ago day in 1945, or throughout his life. He married the woman he loved. He and Margot raised three fine sons and sustained numerous life-long friendships. And Howard succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in the artistic career he first envisioned in 1938.
Captain Howard Fogg flew 76 missions and completed his combat tour with the Army Air Corp in September 1944. He was discharged from the Army in August 1945. Along with the ribbons he earned while with the 359th Fighter Group, Howard was awarded the Air Medal with three clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross with one cluster.
Well respected for his leadership skills and his focused demeanor whether flying escort or strafing trains, Howard was also tasked with teaching young pilots how to fly, both in England and upon his return to the United States. During his combat tour his commanding officers relied on him to accurately and swiftly plot numerous missions. Many inquired whether he would take up a career flying commercial aircraft following the war, but that was not where his heart led him. Instead, he pursued his art, and decades later was regularly acknowledged as the world’s foremost railroad artist.
At the height of his artistic career, when the waiting list for one of his paintings was measured in years, Howard casually mentioned to his son Richard how honored he was to have been selected to fly at President Roosevelt’s interment. He had never spoken of this before and in his typical modest fashion, Howard said, “you could tell which plane was mine, it was the one slightly out of formation.”
But Howard rarely flew out of formation, either in his plane on that long-ago day in 1945, or throughout his life. He married the woman he loved. He and Margot raised three fine sons and sustained numerous life-long friendships. And Howard succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in the artistic career he first envisioned in 1938.
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