Howard Wagar was born in Fairmont, Minnesota in 1906, then moved to New Jersey in the 1920's, where he worked for WAAM radio station in Newark. He received his radio operators liscense in 1928 and worked as an operator for the merchant marines in various radio stations. Wagar joined the Navy in 1943, where he served until 1966, advancing to the rank of Commander. In the Navy, Wagar participated in sensitive Navy missions, including the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests, the Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Project, and the Apollo Space Project.
From the guide to the Wagar Space Collection, 1945-1986, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, )