North High School Wall of Honor Ralph Harold Deuben Class of January, 1934
Research done by Claradell Shedd, Class of 1953.
Ralph graduated from the North High class of January, 1934. He enlisted into the US Army on October 1, 1942 at Camp Dodge, IA. At the time of his North High graduation, his next of kin was Mr. Charles Deuben, 1607 Jefferson Avenue, Des Moines, IA. His service number was 17069006.
Ralph Harold Deuben Year x Rank x Status Jan, 1934 x x Graduated from North High, Des Moines, IA. Lived at 1607 Jefferson Avenue. 1934-1942 x Employment x When and where? September 30, 1936 x Family x Married Mildred Swain at St John's Lutheran Church, Des Moines, IA. Divorced. Mildred E. Swain Pobanz died January 28, 2013 in Vallejo, California. October 1, 1941 x Enlisted; US Army/PVT x Enlisted into US Army Air Corps, Camp Dodge, IA. Divorced with dependents. 1942 x Training x Basic Training, where? 1942 x Training x *Aloe Army Air Force Base, Victoria, TX 1942 x Training x **Selfridge Army Air Force Base, Michigan December 2, 1945 x Discharged x Discharged at? September 6, 1946 x Family x Married Helen Virginia Wirt (NHS, Class of 1930) at St. John's Lutheran Church in Des Moines, IA 1945-1980 x Family x children? 1960 x Family x Des Moines City Directory of 1960 shows Ralph and Virginia Wirt Deuben living at 1607 Jefferson Avenue in Des Moines, IA 1945-1980 x Employment x where and when? Electrician? August, 1980 x Deceased x Des Mones, IA aft August 28, 1980 x Buried x Masonic Cemetery; Glendale; Des Moines, IA *Aloe Army Air Base, Victoria, TX Aloe AAF was established by the United States Army Air Forces as an advanced flying school, first known as Victoria Field #2 on 28 July 1942. It was redesignated as Aloe Army Airfield on 27 October 1942. Its mission was an advanced single-engine training field for fighter pilots. Aloe also became the new home of the Lake Charles Army Flying School, which relocated from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Its training unit was the 347th Aviation Squadron, which used the North American AT-6 Texan, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and lastly Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. Cadets were schooled in flying & in ground & aerial gunnery. During its use as a training airfield, Aloe had a total of 4 satellite fields: Aloe Aux #7 (7.6 miles northwest of Victoria), of which no trace remains, Aloe Aux #8 (4.2 miles south of Goliad), of which no trace remains, Aloe Aux #9 (15 miles southwest of Victoria), of which no trace remains, Fannin Aux #10 (7.2 miles ENE of Goliad). Aloe AAF was inactivated on 31 October 1945, and the government made plans to reassign the field as a subpost of Foster Army Air Field near Victoria, but both Aloe & Foster were closed. Aloe AAF was declared surplus by the War Department in 1946 and was turned over to the War Assets Administration for disposal. Aloe Field, with its 304 buildings, was transferred to Victoria County in 1948, after which the site became Victoria County Airport. ** Selfridge Army Air Force Base, Michigan Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB (IATA: MTC, ICAO: KMTC, FAA LID: MTC) is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.   picture picture caption caption
Masonic Cemtery; Glendale; Des Moines, IA
Ralph Harold Deuben Rank Group United States Army Air Force 1945: Sydney Henry Dengle (get correct pic) (get correct medals) Purple Heart; American Theater Medal; Good Conduct Medal; Army of Occupation Medal; Victory Medal WWII; EAME Theater Ribbon w/1 Bronze Star; Air Medal
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 (3) 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/. Ralph Harold Deuben's 1934 class page is: http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1934.html.
Died: August 28, 1980.
Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"
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