Koplitz's flying skill was formally recognized twice over. In the RCAF, he was one of only
nine pilots in the entire history of 417 Squadron to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross,
effective July 24, 1942, and published in the Canada Gazette, Vol. 77, No. 20, May 15,
1943. In the USAAF, he was separately awarded the American Distinguished Flying Cross, along
with the Air Medal and the EAME Theater Ribbon with campaign stars. His full RCAF decorations
also included the 1939-45 Star, the Africa Star with Clasp, the Defence Medal, the General
Service Medal, and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp. Research into whether he
received additional Oak Leaf Clusters to his American DFC is ongoing.
Koplitz in US uniform, wearing both his RCAF and USAAF wings.
A formal studio portrait taken in the same uniform, with his pilot's wings and ribbon bar
clearly visible. Pictured with him is his first wife — a marriage that predates the family
who carries on this site, and not to be confused with Koplitz's later wife and Joe's mother.
Neither her name nor the date of the photograph is recorded here yet.
On leaving British service, he was designated a Test Pilot, and later flew a captured German
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 as part of enemy-aircraft evaluation work — a measure of the trust placed in
his flying ability by that point in the war. He held Commercial Pilot License CAA 1037255,
with ratings in Seaplane, Amphibian, and Multi-Engine Land aircraft.
Koplitz's Separation Qualification Record (WD AGO Form 100), completed as part of his 1946
discharge process. Its "Additional Information" remarks confirm several facts already told
elsewhere on this site in the interviewing officer's own words: "Served for 2 years with RAF
and RCAF as Pilot Officer appointed by the King" — the commission described in
Chapter Three — "Flew 70 combat missions as Fighter
Pilot of the RAF on Patrol, interdiction and escort duty. Designated as Test Pilot on
separation from British Service," and that he "Holds Commercial Pilot License CAA 1037255
with ratings for Seaplane, Amphibian, Multi-Engine Land." The form also records his
pre-war education and civilian career: three years of college, a music major at what appears
to be the [Roselle?] School of Music in Roselle, New Jersey (the school's name is hard to
make out clearly in the print), and, under civilian occupations, "Organist-Leader Self
Employed, 1936-1941 . . . played piano, trumpet, violin and French horn.
Vocalized on novelty numbers" — matching the dance-band story told in
Chapter One. Signed by Koplitz himself and countersigned
by Major Hunter Smith, Air Corps, as separation classification interviewer.
John Francis Koplitz separated from service on January 17, 1946, at Drew Field, Florida, with
the 303rd AAF Base Unit — his separation documents confirming more than 70 combat missions
flown across two air forces and two theaters of war.
Koplitz's actual discharge document — the Military Record and Report of Separation,
Certificate of Service (WD AGO Form 5355). The clearly legible fields confirm Army Serial
Number O 394 182, rank 1st Lieutenant, Air Corps, 303rd AAF Base Unit, and separation on
January 17, 1946, at the AAF Separation Base, Drew Field, Florida — matching the account
above exactly. It also lists his decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air
Medal, and EAME Theater Ribbon, and records an Army demobilization "score" of 74 as of
September 2, 1945 — the point tally the War Department used that year to help determine
discharge priority. Some of the form's other printed sections, particularly the chronological
listing of theater movements, are faded and abbreviated enough that they're not confidently
transcribed here, though the more legible entries (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Sicily) are
consistent with the campaigns already documented elsewhere on this site. Signed by Koplitz
and countersigned by Major Hunter Smith, Air Corps.
A second, far more legible certificate covering the same service: the "Army of the United
States — Certificate of Service," certifying that First Lieutenant John F. Koplitz, 303rd
AAF Base Unit, "honorably served in active Federal Service in the Army of the United States"
from June 4, 1943 to January 17, 1946 — the same dates given on the form above. Also given
at the AAF Separation Base, Drew Field, Florida, on January 17, 1946, and signed by Major
Hunter Smith, Air Corps. One small discrepancy worth noting: this certificate's typed serial
number reads "O 384 182," a single digit different from the "O 394 182" on the form above —
both forms are printed, not handwritten, so this looks like a typist's error on one of the
two rather than anything meaningful, but it's flagged here rather than silently picking one.
