Death of a Classmate - Carl M. Harms

Carl M. Harms, 77, of Alamogordo, N.M., formerly of Dubuque, died Sunday afternoon, Feb. 22, 2009, at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Facility.
Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Alamogordo. In keeping with his wishes, his body has been cremated.
He was born on March 3, 1931, in Dubuque, son of Carl F. and Geraldine Harms. After graduating from Dubuque High School in 1949, he attended the Naval Academy, graduating in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science. He obtained a master's degree in operations management from the University of Southern California in 1966. He accepted a commission in the Air Force and completed 22 years of service in 1975.
During his Air Force career, Carl flew as a radar intercept officer in F-89s, F-101s, B-57s, F-4s and several other aircraft types, and was stationed in 11 different bases in the continental United States and Alaska, Germany, the Philippine Islands, Vietnam and Thailand. While flying over 300 combat sorties in Southeast Asia, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 15 oak leaf clusters. His other awards include the Presidential Unit Citation, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Air Service Medal (honor class) by the Republic of Vietnam.
Carl was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church and life member of the National Rifle Association, Disabled Veterans of America and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Surviving are his wife of 53 years, Norma; two sons, Richard, of Westminster, Md., and Phillip; two daughters, Julie Martinez and Paula Harms-Van Duyn; a grandson, Daniel Martinez; a granddaughter, Elena Martinez; a great-grandson; and a sister, Mrs. Janann McQuail, all of Alamogordo; two brothers-in-law, Elmer Carlsen, of Cedar Park, Texas, and Robert Casey, of Cleburne, Texas; a sister-in-law, Mrs. Ellen Dahleen, of Marble Falls, Texas; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be given to the Boys and Girls Club of Dubuque and Our Savior Lutheran Church,