2nd Lt. Harold Charles Ham was born on March 10, 1925, to Harold E. Ham and Kathryn Beith-Ham. The family resided at 2825 North 77th Avenue, Elmwood Park, Illinois. His mother died on August 15, 1942, and his father remarried. He had a sister and two step-brothers. Harold graduated from John Mills School and since Elmwood Park was not districted for high school, he could select where he wanted to go to high school. He chose to attend Proviso Township High School and graduated in 1943. During his senior year, on March 11, 1943, he registered with Selective Service.
On March 10, 1944, he was inducted into the US Army. During his training he passed the tests to attend Officers’ Candidate School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and received the serial number O-837 812. Little in known about his training, but it is known that he trained in Florida and at Spence Airfield, Moultrie, Georgia, where he received anti-submarine training. It was there that he received his wings.
After qualifying as a pilot, he was assigned to the 336th Base Unit Combat Crew Training Squadron, Instructional Operations which trained pilots to fly the B-26 Marauder. It is known that he was assigned to Randolph Airfield in Bexar County, Texas, and Scott Army Airfield, Belleville, Illinois, as a flight instructor. The 336th was disbanded in 1944, and his next unit is not known.
He was next stationed at Sarasota Army Airfield, Florida, Sarasota, Florida. It was while on a training flight, P-51K, Serial Number 44-11796, that his plane was reported to have disappeared over the ocean – some reports stated his plane disappeared over the Everglades – on April 6, 1945, 20 miles from Jacksonville, Florida. In addition, some sources state he disappeared during a storm. A search was done but no wreckage from the plane was found. He was declared dead on May 9, 1945.
