Howard was a three sport athlete at RLHS, graduating in 1940. As an end in football, he helped lead the Lakers to two undefeated HON championships in 1938 and 1939. In basketball, Howard played center on the Lakers Ho’N co-championship team in 1939 and in 1940 helped lead the team to the Conference Championship and a berth in the State basketball tournament at Madison. In the Spring of 1940 he placed 4th in the mile run at the State track meet. Enlisting in the Army following graduation, he played football on the 128th Regimental Infantry Team for two years. In August of 1944 he was promoted to First Lieutenant and awarded the Soldier’s Medal for Heroic Deeds. In December of that same year, Howard Whitney, Jr. died in a New Guinea hospital at the age of 23.