Frank Leo "Howlin'" Howley (February 3, 1903 – July 30, 1993) was a United States Army brigadier general and subsequently an administrator at New York University.

Howley served as commandant of the American sector of Berlin after World War II, when the city was broken and in dire need of being restored.

[2][3] He was born in Hampton, New Jersey, and was educated at the Parsons School of Fine and Applied Arts in New York City.

Although the team was then mediocre at best (1922–1924), Howley gained notoriety for his kicking expertise, and a nickname to match, Golden Toe.

Sometime later he was made executive officer of the Third Cavalry Mechanized at Camp Gordon, Georgia, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

While the 9th Infantry Division worked to push the Germans out of Cherbourg, but with most of the street fighting over, Howley's A1A1 detachment exercised its mission authority.

The British troops assigned to his unit received initial orders to return to England for their own preliminary preparations.

The city of Berlin was in absolute shambles, having been devastated by thousands of tons of bombs by mostly British and American bombers.

To make any of this right was the herculean task that awaited the prospective U.S. military governor, and Howley brought to bear a broad background of leadership, experience, and pragmatism.

These were generals Floyd L. Parks, James M. Gavin, Ray W. Barker, Frank A. Keating, Cornelius E. Ryan (no relation to the renowned Irish journalist and author), and William Hesketh.

His several superiors, however, were combat soldiers, who often lacked the experience and vision in dealing with civil affairs or in governing Berlin.

[16] Howley finally had free hand in dealing with the Soviets, but not before the city had suffered significantly, including some of its brightest citizens.

There were a myriad duties to attend in trying to resurrect a very large city of millions that had been left to itself and abandoned by its former Nazi leaders.

In this he was decorated personally by his superior, General Clay, U.S. Military Governor for Germany and commander-in-chief of the European Command.

Putnam's Sons, publisher of Berlin Command, put it best, "Frank Howley was a hard-hitting Philadelphia advertising man before he went on active duty with the Army.

Some Kommandatura committees continued to function for several weeks with all four powers represented, even though the Soviet delegation did not attend all scheduled meetings.

Howley gave sworn testimony regarding his experience in Europe during World War II, and afterwards with the Soviets in Berlin.

[24] He wrote several publications and books, including The Frank L. Howley Papers, 1944–1950 (1950), Berlin Command (1950), Your War for Peace (1953), and Peoples and Policies: A World Travelogue (1959).

The Frank L. Howley Papers, 1944–1950 is an official U.S. Army collection of documents during his time as military governor in Europe, including France and Berlin.

John J. McCloy, the new High Commissioner of Germany at the time, bestowed the honor on behalf of President Truman.