Howard P. Petty served in the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, during the Vietnam War. An Army veteran of 16 years, he was killed by Viet Cong mortar fire as he inspected U.S. troop emplacements near Quang Tri, Vietnam, on March 15, 1968.
