Howard William Fleeger was born in Butler, PA, the son of Lucille Harnish Fleeger and Cecil Fleeger. He was raised by foster parents Elsie and C. Foster McGarvey in North Washington, PA.
Howard’s biological family had a history of military service. His first ancestor in America was Christian Fleeger, a Hessian Cavalry soldier who served with the British Forces during the Revolutionary War. One day, he saw the light, deserted the Hessians, joined the American Army, and later married a local girl in Lancaster, PA. Howard’s grandfather was a drummer boy for a Union Army western Pennsylvania militia unit during the Civil War. His dad, Cecil, served in the Army during World War I.
Howard graduated from Moniteau High School in 1965, and he received his appointment to West Point from Congressman Frank M. Clark of the 25th Congressional District in Pennsylvania.
While at the Academy, Howard pursued a diversity of interests. He was an active member of the Triathlon Club, Military Affairs Club, Behavioral Science Club, and Outdoor Sportsman’s Club. He also served as a teacher for Protestant Sunday School. His classmates remembered him as being very good at math and a perennial dean’s list student. Howard was a perfectionist and if he made a mistake on a writ, he would vow to never make that same mistake again. At the same time, he had an off the wall sense of humor. Whenever someone managed to get him out of “serious mode,” Howard would exhibit a big wide smile (called by some as a “Joe E. Brown smile” after the comic actor who played Osgood Fielding III in the 1959 movie Some Like It Hot).
Howard’s progressive character development at West Point caused the pride of his foster parents, the McGarveys, to swell. They positively beamed whenever they saw him in his uniform. He was truly loved. His academic achievements and class standing, enabled him to select the Corps of Engineers for his branch of service upon graduation.
After graduation there was Airborne School, Ranger School, and Engineer basic. Howard was promoted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant on June 4, 1970. He was further promoted to captain on June 4, 1971. While in the service as an Engineer officer in Vietnam, Howard and his unit were responsible for clearing areas of enemy explosive devices. During one of these missions, an explosion severely damaged his vehicle. Howard survived the blast, while two other members of his unit who were in the vehicle with him did not. Howard was transported in a coma to Japan, where he later recovered. He later served two tours in Germany. During his service in Vietnam, he was exposed to Agent Orange, which would later play a pivotal role in Howard’s life. He returned to civilian life in 1975.
Howard’s first marriage yielded a daughter, Jennifer, who was born in 1978. He and his second wife, Ann, had two children. His son Jonathan was born in 1988 and daughter Chelsea was born in 1991. Howard was a good father. He enjoyed assisting the coaches for the children’s baseball teams and was always in attendance for their baseball games, soccer games, football games, and wrestling matches. His love for mathematics drove him to earn a master’s degree in civil engineering from Boston University. Howard later became a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in the State of Washington. His hobbies included being an avid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Howard enjoyed fishing whenever he had the chance, and he also loved to travel.
He took great pride in the fact that he designed and assisted in the building of his and Ann’s home in Woodinville, WA. His perfectionist tendencies that surfaced at West Point served him well while building retaining walls around that house. Ann reported that the blocks he installed while building those walls were “perfectly level.”
Howard’s career as a civil engineer began with a position at BF Goodrich in Cleveland, OH. After two years, he moved to the State of Washington and went to work for the U.S. Naval Station at Sand Point, WA (this pained Howard, as a West Point graduate having to work at a Naval Installation; but, he made the best of it). After the Naval Station, he worked for Richard Carothers Associates, followed by Group Four Engineers and Surveyors. As he gained experience, he was finally able to start his own company, HW Fleeger Designer.
In September 2003, Howard filed a United States Patent Application titled “Passive Method For Obtaining Controlled Drainage from a Vessel.” It was officially granted on February 14, 2006 as patent number 6,997,644. For those interested in reading Howard’s patent, go online to USPTO.gov and do a “search for patents” using the above number.
As a result of Howard’s exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Ann and Howard had divorced, and he was living alone. In 2006, his mind and body began to deteriorate significantly. Howard contacted Ann in 2010 and asked for help. Out of the kindness of her heart, Ann took him into her home and served as his care-giver until his death in 2015. This memorial article honors the life of our friend and classmate Howard Fleeger. He was an intellectual, a good father, and a strong honest man. He was taken from us much too soon.