Howard Christenson, from Spring Valley, Wisconsin, volunteered for military service following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force pilot training program in 1942 and was trained at the Rankin Aeronautical Academy at Tulare, California. After further training in Florida, Christenson was assigned to the 17th Bomb Group based in Morocco, piloting a B-26 bomber. He completed 39 successful missions striking at targets in Italy between 1943 and 1944, earning eight air medals, a Presidential Unit Citation, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
