An American Hero Celebrates

AN AMERICAN HERO Celebrates His 100th Birthday

By Jim McCoy, Pacific Historic Parks

“It was quite a celebration, and I was overwhelmed.” That was how retired Lt. Cmdr. and USS Arizona survivor Lou Conter summed up his 100th birthday celebration near his Northern California home.

And then he added “It was once in a lifetime” followed by a hearty laugh.

Members of the California Highway Patrol proudly escorted him to the venue. There was a flyover. A five-year-old girl sang the National Anthem. Local community leaders paid tribute. He signed copies of his book “From USS Arizona Survivor to Unsung American Hero: The Lou Conter Story.” Guests added their signatures to banners signed by his friends in Hawaii from the National Park Service and Pacific Historic Parks.

And then there was the moment Conter was presented with a photo that went viral. On the day before his party, he pinned the pilot wings he earned nearly 80 years ago to the chest of his great nephew, Marine Captain Ray Daniel Hower.

"I got those wings on November 15, 1942, and I'm so glad he's got them now,” Conter said in a phone interview from his home a week after the celebration. “He said he’s going to protect them the rest of his life, and I’m glad he’s got them.”

Louann Daley, Conter’s daughter, said the pinning ceremony was a proud and powerful moment filled with emotions.

“I thought back to when my dad was pinned in 1942 and how he must have felt,” she said. “This was something my dad and mom started talking about 10 years ago to pin my dad’s wings on Daniel and before she passed a few years ago she made him promise to pin his wings on Daniel. With family surrounding them both it was a beautiful moment to witness. They both looked so handsome in their uniforms.”

The Captain’s Story

AN INCREDIBLE HONOR

Marine Captain Ray “Radar” Daniel Hower is a member of a family steeped in military tradition, service, and sacrifice. He is a third generation Marine Corps Jet Pilot. His grandfather, Lt. Col. Ray Hower, flew A-4s in Vietnam and died in service to his country. His father, Col. Ray Hower, flew F/A 18s. All three earned their degrees from the University of Kansas. Both his grandfathers passed away before he was born so Uncle Lou Conter stepped in as his sole grandfather.

Please describe your reaction when this special pinning event happened?

This was an incredibly special moment for my family and I. Due to COVID, my family was denied the right to pin my Wings of Gold on me after 4 years of flight school. It was very crushing knowing my Uncle Lou and my father were losing that incredibly special moment. It, at the time, lessened my achievement because that was not just for me, it was for my family and the legacy they had created. If it was not for my family, especially my mother, I would not be a Marine Corps Strike Pilot today. They molded me into the man I am today, and I am far from perfect, but they set incredibly high standards that I try to uphold every day. My Uncle Lou and father, though, were kind enough to mail me their wings but I refused to wear them until I could receive them the way it was meant to be. I put them in a drawer waiting for the day they could pass them onto me. We are incredibly blessed that Uncle Lou has stayed healthy and was able to wait a year and a half to present them to me. Having a man, that was aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor and then went on to become a Naval Aviator receiving one of the highest decoration a pilot can receive, feel that you deserve to wear the wings he wore is an incredible honor. I can’t really put it into words. Very few men walked the earth accomplishing what he accomplished and very few men are given the honor to carry their legacy on. I can’t wear those wings, or my father’s wings, while I fly but I do

carry a piece of him and my father with me every flight. Uncle Lou gave me the pen I fly with, and my father gave me the towel I fly with. It may not seem like much but as a single seat attack pilot I know that I am never alone. They are always with me. I only wish I had something of my grandfathers to fly with.

How cool was it that Lou wore his dress whites during the ceremony?

We found it very cool. He brings honor to the uniform, so I think it is a great expression of the history of the Navy and what that uniform stands for. Men and women of his generation are what make us proud to wear the uniform today. It is only fitting that he reminds us of that on this special occasion.

I imagine there's immense pride in your immediate family over having Lou as your great uncle.

My family, from my immediate family extended all the way out to my cousins, aunts and uncles, are incredibly proud of this man. His military accomplishments are only part of it though. Being around this man and his incredible impact he has had on people is truly incredible. He stepped up into the spotlight casted on him and made the world a better place. Every time I am around my Uncle Lou I am meeting someone new that has been impacted by his legacy and life lessons. I believe it is safe to save that my family is beyond proud of my Uncle Lou.

In my immediate family we have LT Jake “Firkle” Nease, a Navy HT instructor and SH-60 pilot, my grandfather, Lt. Col Ray Hower, a Marine A-4 Attack Pilot, my father, Col Ray “Racer” Hower, a Marine Top Gun F-4 RIO and F/A18 Pilot, myself, Capt Ray “Radar” Daniel Hower, a AV-8B Attack Pilot, LCDR Lou Conter. We are a proud group of pilots with Uncle Lou being the cherry on top.

Why is it important that Americans including the young and those yet to be born never forget the Greatest Generation?

The Greatest Generation was full of honest and hardworking men and women that did what their nation needed them to do and took pride in doing it. The incredible stories we hear from men like my Uncle Lou to CWO4 Hershel “Woody” Williams, a Marine that received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on Iwo Jima, sends chills down my spine. As I joined the Marine Corps and learned about these incredible men and women it motivated me to push myself to be the best man and Marine I could be. I began to take a deep look at myself in the mirror and wonder if I had what it took to be like these men if and when my country called on me. Would I have what it takes to go into the teeth of the enemy like them? Do I have what it takes to wear U.S. Marines on my chest the way CWO4 Williams did? That drove me to bettering myself in all ways of life. I also began to realize that it all comes back to pride. These men and women acted in a way that would make future generations proud. They had pride in their work. Their actions were to such standards they were proud to put their name on it. Service member or not, we forget we all are Americans, and we get the honor to carry their legacy with us everywhere we go; and we get to do it with pride. Every morning when I put on my flight suit I put on a patch that says “USMC”. I carry with me GySgt John Basilone, CWO4 Woody Williams, Lt. Gen Chesty Puller, Cpl Kyle Carpenter, and all other Marines that have gone before me. On that same patch it says “Hower”. I carry with me my grandfather, Lt. Col Ray Hower and father, Col Ray Hower. I am proud that both of those names mean something and they mean something because those men and women were proud of it too. It’s important for our current, younger, and future generations to understand the pride they felt and that it’s an honor for them to call themselves Americans, Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Coastguardsmen. Be proud and use that pride to continue to put your best foot forward.