The Howe Bulldogs will recognize and honor Howe’s military hero L.B. Kirby on Friday night by wearing decals on their helmets during the 56th Silver Spike game with Van Alstyne. The decal will be a purple heart with the initials “LBK” inscribed inside the purple heart. The decals are being produced and donated by local Howe citizen Amber Carter.
Services for Mr. Kirby will take place earlier Friday at 10:30 am at Scoggins Funeral Home in Van Alstyne.
Mr. Kirby, a former Bulldog, was a Purple Heart recipient who became the most decorated living World War II veteran in Texas. His awards include The Asiatic-Pacific Liberation Medal, Philippine Liberation medal, three overseas service bars, seven Bronze Stars, two Bronze Arrowheads and the Purple Heart.
Kirby is a 1943 graduate of Howe High School who entered the United States Army only two weeks after graduation. He was trained as a machine gunner under General Douglas MacArthur in the First Calvary Division of the United States Army. He was hit in the back by shrapnel from a Japanese rocket which landed him in a field hospital for three months. He later rejoined his unit to prepare for an invasion of Japan. Mr. Kirby was one of 25 men remaining from the original 250 of his unit when the Japanese surrendered on Aug. 25, 1945.
In 2013, the City of Howe named “L.B. Kirby Avenue” in his honor and later that year, he was honored at the Grayson County Commissioner’s Court where then-County Judge Drue Bynam read a proclamation honoring him as the most decorated living World War II veteran.
In 2015, the Howe Area Chamber of Commerce included Mr. Kirby into the Inaugural Class of the Howe Hall of Honor.
In addition to his heroism for his country, Mr. Kirby was a player for the Howe Bulldogs on the 1942 team that won a district championship without a head coach. Due to wartime, Howe did not hire a coach before the eighth season in school history and planned to not participate in a football schedule for that season. However, Mr. Kirby and fellow teammates petitioned Superintendent Charles R. Thompson to let them coach themselves. After careful counsel, the team was allowed to hold their own practices and eventually won the district championship serving as their own coach.
