The outlook for most families in Britain at this time was bleak and Howard’s family was no exception and so with few other options Howard joined the British Army where he went on to serve two separate terms. The commander of the 2nd Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry asked Howard if he could be fit in time to resume command to undertake this proposed mission and so Howard immediately began an arduous physical training regime at a running track near his home with only after a few months of recuperation, but he was not fully healed. Whatever the duration of time Major John Howard had spent in the war, it is without doubt that those three months he served in active duty has earned him his place in history.