textmcdonaldjarliss1940.html

North High School Wall of Honor
J. Arliss McDonald
Class of June, 1940

Research done by Rick Nehrling, class of 1963.

J. Arliss Mcdonald

Arliss graduated from North High in the June, 1940 class. He was in Home Room 211. His next of kin is listed as Mr. Roy Talley McDonald, 605 Ovid Avenue, Des Moines, IA. .At the time of his enlistment he was single without dependents. His enlistment service number was 17 070 778.

J. Arliss McDonald

Year	x	Rank	x	Status

June, 1940	x	Graduated	x	Graduated from North High, Des Moines, IA. Lived at 605 Ovid Avenue.
date	x	Worked? Student?	x	Where and when?
November 1, 1942	x	US Army	x	Joined U.S. Army at Camp Dodge, IA.
1942	x	US Army	x	488th School Squadron; Midland, TX.
1944	x	Family	x	Married Wanda Eloise Foley
August 6,1945	x	US Army	x	On the day the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the Enola Gay (B29) had left and returned to the island of Tinian, where Arliss was stationed.
November 29, 1944	x	Stationed	x	In Pacific Theater on Tinian Island.
November 14, 1945	x	US Army	x	Returned from overseas.
November 23, 1945	x	US Army/Sgt	x	Discharged
May 3, 1949	x		x	Military paperwork filing for WWII service. Lived at 4009 12th Street, Des Moines, IA
September 10, 1997	x	Deceased	x	Des Moines, IA
aft Sep 10, 1997	x	Burial	x	Glendale Cemetery; Des Moines, IA. Memorial #169714538

488th School Squadron, Ellington Field, Midland, TX; Headquarters and Base Service Squadron, Midland, TX; 1554th Ord S&M Company, Kelly Field, TX; Headquarters Squadron, 72nd Air Service Group, Warner Robbins, GA; Walker Field, KS, APO 336

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.

72nd Air Service Group, Warner Robins, GA
Lineage: 72 Air Base Gp active by 8 Dec 41; 72 Air Base Group, HQ & HQ Sq redesignated 72 Service Group, HQ & HQ Sq (AG 320.2, 10 Jun 42); 77 Service Gp split into 77 Service Gp and 72 Service Gp c. May 44; redesignated 72 Air Service Gp in early 1945, inactivated or disbanded 20 Sep 48.
Assignments: West Coast Air Corps Flying Training Ctr to unknown, III Air Service Area Cmd to 1943, Warner Robins Air Service Cmd 11 May 44-5 Jun 44, 313 Bombardment Wg (6th Bombardment Gp) -unknown.
Stations: Minter Fld, CA on 8 Dec 41, moved to Barksdale Fld, LA 2 Apr 43 (do not know if it remained at Minter all this time) at Barksdale Fld to 24 Jun 43. (this unit is listed as the 72d Air Base Gp at Barksdale in Air Force Bases, Vol I, but should have been a service group from Jun 42); Robins Fld, GA 11 May 44 to 5 Jun 44, Walker AAF to 1944, North Fld, Tinian to 15 Mar 46, Clark Fld to 7 Jun 47, Kadena AB 7 Jun 47-20 Sep 48

Ellington Field, Midland, TX;
B25

August 6, 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay
which was dispatched from Tinian Island where Arliss was stationed.

Glendale Cemetery; Memorial #169714538

	J. Arliss McDonald Sergeant 72nd Air Service Group US Army Air Corps ) Need military photo of J. Arliss McDonald
(get correct medals) Distinguished Flying Cross; Air Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster

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 all North High School graduates can be found online at http://www.ndmhs.com/. J. Arliss McDonald's 1940 class page can be viewed at
http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1940(1990.50).html.

Died September 10, 1997

Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"