North High School Wall of Honor
Joseph Henry Pearlman
Class of January, 1936
Joseph Henry Pearlman
Research done by Claradell Shedd, Class of 1953. PAGE IN PROGRESS
Joe graduated from the North High class of January, 1936. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps at at Camp Dodge, IA. When? At the time of his enlistment, his next of kin was Mr. Samuel Pearlman, Jr., 1169 14th Street Place, Des Moines, IA. His service number was _______.
Joseph Henry Pearlman (need accurate specifics)
Year x Rank x Status
January, 1936 x x x Graduated from North High, Des Moines, IA
x x Student x Student and/or employment?
Joined x US Army Air Corps x Enlisted at Camp Dodge, IA. What Squadron? What Wing?
date x Pilot Training x *Kelly Field, TX (San Antonio).
*Kelly Field was created by act of Congress in December 1916m when the lease of 700 acres of land was authorized. It became the home of the 3rd Aero Squadron and on June 11, 1917 was named for Lt. George E.M., Kelly. Later that year it was expanded with the addition known as Kelly Field Number 2, home to the flying training center.

The General Supply Depot moved to Kelly from downtown San Antonio, where it was joined by the aviation repair depot from Dallas in 1921, forming the Intermediate Air Depot. The Advanced Flying School moved to Kelly Field Number 2 in 1922, training pilots in advanced skills such as pursuit and bombardment.

In 1925, Kelly Field Number 1 was renamed Duncan Field in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Duncan and Kelly Field Number 2 became simply Kelly Field. In 1943, with the rapid expansion of programs to train pilots needed in Europe and the Pacific, congestion became a real threat, so Kelly and Duncan were reunited as Kelly Field. When the training mission was separated and moved to the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, which was to become Lackland, the primary mission of Kelly Field became maintenance and supply.
March, 1943? x US Air Force/
Graduated
x Graduated as Pilot. England..
*While Joe was serving in England (London), he invented the landing lights (fog) which were eventually installed at LaGuardia Field in New York.
date x US Air Force/
Major
x Flew DC-3, DC-4, DC-6, and B-17
date x Visitation only? x *Romulus Army Air Base, MI 48174
*Air Transport Command at Romulus Army Air Base, MI (Detroit). 3rd Ferrying Group, 345th Army Air Force Base Unit. Now Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).

During World War II, the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Michigan for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.

Most of these airfields were under the command of First Air Force or the Army Air Forces Training Command (AAFTC) (A predecessor of the current-day United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command). However the other USAAF support commands (Air Technical Service Command (ATSC); Air Transport Command (ATC) or Troop Carrier Command) commanded a significant number of airfields in a support roles.

date x Retired x Discharged at Selfridge Field, MI. (Mt. Clemens, MI)
date x Civilian Career x Where and when?
date x Civilian x Southfield, MI.
August 1, 2009 x Deceased x Southfield, MI
Photos below are just samples. Will be replaced by appropriate Pearlman photos.
457th Bomber Group? B-17 Flying Fortress (replace with appropriate Pearlman photos) 748th Bomber Squadron?
Joseph Henry Pearlman
Major
United States Army Air Corps
United States Air Force
US Army Air Corps
examples

Air Transport Command
Air Force Pilot Wings
Pearlman Photo
List of medals to be supplied later.
References
(1) The World War II Army Enlistment Records contain information on more than nine million indivdual enlistments. These records can be found online at http://www.archives.gov/.

(2) The comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of North High School graduates can be found online at: http://www.ndmhs.com/. Joseph Henry Pearlman's class page is: http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1936(1986.50).html.
05/27/10: Died 08/01/09; Southfield, MI.
Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"
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