North High School Wall of Honor
Joseph Andrew Billings
Class of June, 1939
Research done by Claradell Shedd, class of 1953.
Joseph Andrew Billings
Joseph Andrew Billings graduated in the North High June, 1939 class. Following graduation, Joe attended Iowa State. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, in 1942, Joe made his way to the Polk County Court House and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. His service number was 0700898. His next of kin shown as 2620 35th Street, Des Moines, IA.
Joseph Andrew Billings
Year x Rank/Event x Status
June, 1939 x Graduated x North Des Moines High School, Des Moines, IA
1939-41 x x Iowa State University; Ames, IA
1942 x US Army
Air Corps
x Enlisted in Army Air Corps at Polk County Courthouse, Des Moines
x x boot camp x San Antonio, Texas
x x primary x Ballinger, Texas for flight training
x x BT-13s x Goodfellow Field, San Angelo, Texas
1943 x advanced x Reese Field, Lubbock, Texas; AT-9/Curtiss; BT-19/Fairchild
x x C-47s x Bergstrom Field, Austin, Texas; C-47s
  x x x Alliance Army Airfield, Alliance, NE
late summer, 1944 x C-47s x MacKall Air Force Base, MacKall, NC
  x B-46s x To India via South America, Africa. To Sylhet, India
  x x x Comilla
  x x x Imphal, India.
Nov/Dec 1944 x x x Myitkyina, Burma. From Nov/Dec 1944-Spring 1945.
x x x x Hauling Chinese 330th Division back to China. Dropped paratroopers.
x x C-47s x Meiktila, Mandalay. 4 or 5-man crew
x x C-46s x Stationed at Ledo, India when bombs were dropped on Japan.
late August, 1945 x x x To China to haul dignitaries
x x x x Liangshan
x x x x Xian (terra cotta figures discovered)
September, 1945 x US Air Corps/Captain x Homeward bound. Discharged as Captain.
1949 x x x Enrolled in law school at Drake. Graduated 1949.
Following WWII x President x Organized 317th WWII Air Commandos
1949-1989 Employment Practiced law in Des Moines, IA
August 11, 2009 x x Hy-Vee Honor Flight to Washington, DC
February 5, 2012 x Deceased x Died February 5, 2012 in Johnston, IA.
WWII Air Commando Assn.;
(right) Joe in
Bhamo, Burma; Fall, 1944
***
Left above: Dayton Reunion
Left (right): Hurlburt Field,
Fort Walton Beach, FL; 1990
Above: BT-13. Below: C-47
August 11, 2009; Hy-Vee Honor Flight; Washington, DC







Joseph Andrew Billings
Captain
330th Division
US Army Air Corps






Captain Bars



Three Distinquished Flying Crosses; Five Air Medals;
National Defense Service Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign;
WWII Victory Medal; American Campaign Medal
References
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://ndmhs.com/. Joseph Andrew Billings's 1939 class page is: http://ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1939(2005.66).html.
01/16/10. Died 02/05/12. Johnston, IA
Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"
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