The first-born, Steven was born on July 11, 1950. Second-born, Larry, was born eighteen months later. Both of us were born in Long Beach, California. When I was five, we moved to Garden Grove because Dad achieved a position as chemestry teacher in Buena Park. Those of you who were close to us, knew we had the best chemistry set in the whole school.
After graduation, Steven joined the army and became a radio operator in STRATCOM, Stategic Radio Communications. He held the rank of E5 (sargeant) and had top -secret clearance. Our family and, yes those of you who were Steven's friends were investigated by the OSS to make sure we were of high moral character and patriotic Americans. Steve was first stationed for a year in Thialand on Hill 272. Hill 272 was a microwave repeater STRATCOM base (small, isolated, jungle outpost) close to Sadahip in the the Bangkok area, the capital of Thialand. STRATCOM among many other things, handles the U.S. Air Forces nuclear weapons deployment, and in Steven's case, especially the B-52 raids on the Ho Chi Ming trail in Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam from U.S. Air Bases in Thialand. Steve had many good stories about Thailand.
He learned to speak Siamese (Thailand used to be called Siam). Steve loved to go to Thai restaurants for Cowpot Gug (Thai chicken and rice.) It was obvious he spoke pretty good Siamese by the way the Thai people responded to him. Steven's language ability came in handy many times in the boonies of Thailand. On occasion a duce and a half truck he was driving was ambushed by bandits. He fired his .22 magnum revolver out the window and said a choice few Thai explitives to them and saved the whole crew from robbery. He was the only one packing a personal defense weapon. The Army chose not to issue M-16s or ammo to the laundry run--shooting a Thai civilian looks bad for the Army. In Thialand in those days you had to worry more about robbers than communist guerrillas. The night life in Thai cities is well known and Steve really enjoyed his tour there.
After leaving what Steve called the South East Asia War Games, he was stationed in Teharan, Iran. His passport said he was in Germany but he was actually in Iran attached to the embassy. He carried a letter identifying him as a friend of the Shaw of Iran that gave him diplomatic immunity. He was commended in the Stars and Stripes Magazine aiding the State Department in encripped messages for Spiro Agnew, then Vice President of the United States. This was just before the fall of Iran to the Ayotola Komeni's regime, when Steve's year tour was finished.
After his tour in Iran, the Army gave Steve a six-month early discharge, because the Viet Nam war was winding down. He went to Cal Poly Pomona on the GI Bill as an electical engineering major. Steven was a electical engineer for a number of firms in Southern California. He married Cheryl Nutt of Whittier. They shared a love of camping, hunting and black powder shooting. Steve also loved boating and sailing which would ultimately cost him his life.
On March 27, 1988 Steven was attempting to sail across the Salton Sea (from Bombay Beach on the east to the west shore) in a one-man sailing boat called a Sabot. A storm suddenly and unexpectedly blew up and Steven was never seen alive again. The authorities briefly made a tacid effort at a search and gave up saying, "The body will probably show up some day." We formed our own search parties and after two weeks, gave up concluding his remains were in an area of quicksand along the west coast of the Salton Sea. Two and a half years later, his remains were found there by two men trying to unstuck their ATCs from the muck. Cheryl had already provided the Sheriff/Coroner with Steven's Dental records and a match was made. This is how the official year of death of 1990 was established.
Steven and Cheryl never had any children. Cheryl never remarried and succomed to cancer last year. She was buried with Steven at Westminster Memorial Park. They are together in Eternity now.
Greetings, I am so sad to hear of the passing of Steve. Steve and I were in a few classes together during our 4 years at GGHS. I found Steve to be extremely intelligent, quirky, in a cool way, soft spoken and a witty sense of humor. He had a very fast mind! A great guy and missed by all who knew him. It was an honor to know him..... Bob Lyon
Larry Howe (1970)
To all who knew my brother, Steven Howe,
The first-born, Steven was born on July 11, 1950. Second-born, Larry, was born eighteen months later. Both of us were born in Long Beach, California. When I was five, we moved to Garden Grove because Dad achieved a position as chemestry teacher in Buena Park. Those of you who were close to us, knew we had the best chemistry set in the whole school.
After graduation, Steven joined the army and became a radio operator in STRATCOM, Stategic Radio Communications. He held the rank of E5 (sargeant) and had top -secret clearance. Our family and, yes those of you who were Steven's friends were investigated by the OSS to make sure we were of high moral character and patriotic Americans. Steve was first stationed for a year in Thialand on Hill 272. Hill 272 was a microwave repeater STRATCOM base (small, isolated, jungle outpost) close to Sadahip in the the Bangkok area, the capital of Thialand. STRATCOM among many other things, handles the U.S. Air Forces nuclear weapons deployment, and in Steven's case, especially the B-52 raids on the Ho Chi Ming trail in Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam from U.S. Air Bases in Thialand. Steve had many good stories about Thailand.
He learned to speak Siamese (Thailand used to be called Siam). Steve loved to go to Thai restaurants for Cowpot Gug (Thai chicken and rice.) It was obvious he spoke pretty good Siamese by the way the Thai people responded to him. Steven's language ability came in handy many times in the boonies of Thailand. On occasion a duce and a half truck he was driving was ambushed by bandits. He fired his .22 magnum revolver out the window and said a choice few Thai explitives to them and saved the whole crew from robbery. He was the only one packing a personal defense weapon. The Army chose not to issue M-16s or ammo to the laundry run--shooting a Thai civilian looks bad for the Army. In Thialand in those days you had to worry more about robbers than communist guerrillas. The night life in Thai cities is well known and Steve really enjoyed his tour there.
After leaving what Steve called the South East Asia War Games, he was stationed in Teharan, Iran. His passport said he was in Germany but he was actually in Iran attached to the embassy. He carried a letter identifying him as a friend of the Shaw of Iran that gave him diplomatic immunity. He was commended in the Stars and Stripes Magazine aiding the State Department in encripped messages for Spiro Agnew, then Vice President of the United States. This was just before the fall of Iran to the Ayotola Komeni's regime, when Steve's year tour was finished.
After his tour in Iran, the Army gave Steve a six-month early discharge, because the Viet Nam war was winding down. He went to Cal Poly Pomona on the GI Bill as an electical engineering major. Steven was a electical engineer for a number of firms in Southern California. He married Cheryl Nutt of Whittier. They shared a love of camping, hunting and black powder shooting. Steve also loved boating and sailing which would ultimately cost him his life.
On March 27, 1988 Steven was attempting to sail across the Salton Sea (from Bombay Beach on the east to the west shore) in a one-man sailing boat called a Sabot. A storm suddenly and unexpectedly blew up and Steven was never seen alive again. The authorities briefly made a tacid effort at a search and gave up saying, "The body will probably show up some day." We formed our own search parties and after two weeks, gave up concluding his remains were in an area of quicksand along the west coast of the Salton Sea. Two and a half years later, his remains were found there by two men trying to unstuck their ATCs from the muck. Cheryl had already provided the Sheriff/Coroner with Steven's Dental records and a match was made. This is how the official year of death of 1990 was established.
Steven and Cheryl never had any children. Cheryl never remarried and succomed to cancer last year. She was buried with Steven at Westminster Memorial Park. They are together in Eternity now.
Robert Lyon (1969)
Greetings, I am so sad to hear of the passing of Steve. Steve and I were in a few classes together during our 4 years at GGHS. I found Steve to be extremely intelligent, quirky, in a cool way, soft spoken and a witty sense of humor. He had a very fast mind! A great guy and missed by all who knew him. It was an honor to know him..... Bob Lyon