Biography
Second Lieutenant Henry H. Howe Jr. became a notable early example of uniformed dissent during the Vietnam era. While on active duty and off base, he joined a peace demonstration in El Paso on November 6, 1965, carrying a sign sharply criticizing the war and the president—an unusually public act for a commissioned officer at that time.
Howe’s protest led to arrest and a general court-martial under provisions that criminalized “contemptuous words” by officers, along with related charges. He was convicted and sentenced to dismissal from the service, forfeiture of pay, and two years’ confinement at hard labor. The case is often remembered as a flashpoint where military discipline, wartime politics, and free-speech principles collided—illustrating how antiwar activism could trigger not only civilian arrest but the distinct punitive machinery of military justice.
