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Howard A. Berger OBITUARY

Howard was born Nov. 12, 1923, to Alvin Berger and Rose Brief in The Bronx, NY. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 68 years, Dorothy (Gillispie) who was a World War II Marine Corps Veteran, his parents and brother, Bertram (U.S. Coast Guard). Howard graduated from Eastern District High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. He enlisted in the Army on Nov. 13, 1942, in New York City, spent two years at Camp Stewart, Georgia, and eventually embarked for Great Britain in December 1944 on the Queen Elizabeth, a U.S. troop ship with 15,000 other “passengers” at that time.

Howard, as a Staff Sergeant, traveled through England, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy. Howard suffered third-degree burns in a fire several days prior to VE Day and was hospitalized in Hospital Bojan in Cliche, Paris, France, for two months. He returned to his unit, 580th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons) Battalion in Austria, via Nuremburg, Germany, where he attended a USO Show on July 4, 1945, which featured Jack Benny and Ingrid Bergman (and obtained their autographs).

After the war ended, he was transferred to Berchtesgaden, Germany (Hitler’s Retreat), and then to Traunstein, Germany, as Provost Sergeant, guarding U.S. military (mainly AWOL) prisoners, and in November 1945, to manage his unit’s hotel in Wallersee, Austria. He was asked by headquarters in Vienna if he would remain in Austria as a civilian to assist in the military occupation of Austria, and was accepted as Assistant Class VI Officer (liquor operations)/Accountant for the U.S. Forces, Austria (USFA).

In Vienna, Howard met Dorothy Irene Gillespie of Seibert, Colorado, in 1949. Dorothy proudly served in the U.S. Marine Corps (1944-46), followed by a tour in the U.S. Foreign Service where she was assigned to the American Embassy in Vienna, Austria. They married in that beautiful city on the Danube in 1951. Howard subsequently became Deputy Special Services Officer of the Vienna Military Post. In October 1955, when the four-power Austrian Peace Treaty was signed by the U.S., British, French and Russian governments, he was initially transferred to Southern European Task Force (SETAF) in Livorno/Pisa, Italy where a U.S. Army missile command and subsequently the Army’s first Airborne Battalion Combat Team were established. From there, he was assigned to headquarters in Verona, Italy, spending 10 years in Juliet’s city, later relocating to Vicenza, Italy, residing in Andrea Palladio’s medieval town for some 29 years. Howard retired in September 1994, and both he and Dorothy returned to the U.S., enjoying winters in Naples, Florida, and summers in Denver, Colorado. Sadly, Dorothy passed away in Denver, September, 2019, and is interred at Fort Logan National Military Cemetery, Denver, where she will be reunited with Howard.

During his some 53 years in and with the U.S. Army (50 in Europe), he had many opportunities to meet, host, and escort numerous sports dignitaries and movie stars. Some of his favorites were Hazel Scott, Orson Wells and Joseph Cotton (while they were filming ‘The Third Man’ in Vienna in 1949), also Cab Calloway, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Turfan Bey, Abe Saperstein and his Harlem Globetrotters, Italian boxing champion and later wrestler Primo Carnera, Bob Hope, Jerry Cologna, Olivia de Havilland, Jimmy Dickens, Red Foley, Ray Acuff, Minnie Pearl and the Grand 0le Opry troupe, Hedy Lamarr, Wallace Beery, Hildegarde, Eli Wallach, Coretta King, Jeanette McDonald, Nelson Eddy, Jack Palance, and Barry Manilow (who lived in the apartment above the Berger family).

He was the life of many a party with his ability to engage anyone in conversation, especially at Starbucks. He enjoyed movies, theatre, opera and especially musicals. His favorites were “Rose Marie,” “Porgy and Bess,” “‘Fiddler On The Roof” and “The Music Man.” He had a love for animals and amazed children (also some adults too) with his 10% magic tricks (only 10% worked). Howard was well-known for his original jokes, quick quips and play-on-words, and was rarely seen without a smile radiating out from under his handlebar mustache. In fact, Howard asked that when advising family and friends of his passing, to include the following: ”The Berger family announces with profound regret and deep sadness to inform you of Howard’s passing, especially Howard.” When he was advised to “Spend your money, you can’t take it with you”, Howard responded with: “If I can’t take it with me, I ain’t going!” In the European tradition, Howard spent long dinners with friends and family, enjoying good food and lively conversation, and meeting with military veterans. He had many ideas for improving military policies and national laws and policies regarding the minimum wage, Social Security and other topics of the day. Howard never tired of writing letters to editors, congressmen and senators with his proposals and criticisms.

Howard was also a very generous person, from helping the DPs (Displaced Persons) in Vienna after the war to making substantial charitable donations to numerous worthwhile organizations. He took great joy in contributing to over 100 local, national and international charities annually, including Boys Town Jerusalem, National Jewish Health, Warrior Bonfire Program, Hope For Haiti, Shepherd Center, AISH of the Rockies, Chabad of Naples, Planned Parenthood (Rocky Mountain and Naples), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Sierra Club, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and as well as many other medical research, conservation and environmental organizations. Howard was the innovator of the government-authorized Charitable Gift Annuity “90 and Over” program offering extremely high return (up to 26.0%), plus a significant minimum 50% tax deductible benefit.

He also shared with many of us his advice, and opinions and knowledge about the world, politics and his very successful stock market hobby, plus making sure we all stayed as sharp, aware, ethically and eternally curious as he was. Howard was probably the oldest Wendell Willkie Republican in the United States. Also, very vociferously, anti-Trump.

While Howard was walking home from school on May 6, 1937, he noticed an extremely large white dirigible flying quite low almost overhead, very slowly, on Its way to the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, with its huge fins reflecting huge Nazi swastikas. He was hoping that Hitler’s pride and joy, signifying world superiority of his Germany, would explode. Shortly after returning home, the radio reported “Breaking News”: the infamous airship Hindenburg, burst into flames during its landing and was completely destroyed.

Howard’s military and government civilian awards included the European African Mediterranean War Medal, American Theater Ribbon, WWII Victory Medal for participation in the Rhineland Campaign and Central Europe Campaign, the Department of the Army Civilian Meritorious Award, the first recipient of the U.S. Army Adjutant General White Plume Award in the European Theater in recognition of his dedication to the morale and welfare of the soldiers and their families in Austria and Italy, and to (then secret) atomic artillery troops stationed in remote areas of Greece and Turkey during the missile crisis. He was also a Toastmaster, and a proud lifetime member of the Jewish War Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

He Is survived by three nieces Diane (Berger) Ambrosino, Vevalee Padilla, Cheryl Wolf; four nephews, Dr. Richard Berger, Robert Berger, Mark Wolf and Erik Sabato; cousins Mitchell and Linda Steinberg, Arthur and Ronnie Steinberg, and many great and great-great cousins, nieces and nephews and a host of dear friends here and abroad.

Services and interment will be held at Fort Logan National Cemetery at 10:30 a.m., July 23.