Cecil E. Harris

Cecil E. Harris
Nickname(s) “Cece” "Speedball"
Born (1916-12-02)December 2, 1916
Faulkton, South Dakota, United States
Died December 2, 1981(1981-12-02) (aged 65)
Washington, D.C., United States
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service March 1941 – 1967
Rank Captain (United States O-6)
Unit
Battles/wars
Awards

Captain Cecil E. "Cece" Harris (December 2, 1916 – December 2, 1981) was a United States naval aviator and fighter ace. Harris is remembered for his actions in the Pacific Ocean Theater during World War II, for which he earned the Navy Cross, among other medals. By war's end he was the second-highest-ranked ace in the U.S. Navy with 24 kills to his name.[1][2]

Pre-War

Cecil E. Harris was born in Faulkton, South Dakota on December 2, 1916. After graduating from Cresbard High School in 1934, Harris attended Northern State Teachers' College (NTSC) for a year. He took a leave from school to teach for a few years in Onaka, South Dakota before returning to NTSC in 1940 to complete his degree. Upon returning to school he enrolled in a civilian pilot training course, which ultimately led to his enlistment in the U.S. Naval Reserve on March 26, 1941.[3][4] By March 12, 1942 Harris had earned his wings.[5]

World War II

Harris first served aboard USS Suwannee with VF-27, providing support for Operation Torch in North Africa and later flying sorties off the escort carrier in the Guadalcanal Campaign. During one such engagement in the Solomons, Harris—flying the Grumman F4F Wildcat—scored his first aerial victory.[6] After returning to the U.S. in the wake of Guadalcanal, Harris served for about a year with a squadron eventually re-designated as VF-18, which in August 1944 boarded USS Intrepid as part of its Air Group 18. He would stay with Intrepid and VF-18 until the end of his wartime service.

Though only a lieutenant at the time, many of the "Fighting 18"'s green pilots turned to Harris for advice.[7] Intrepid's skipper similarly recognized Harris' ability and made him flight operations officer. According to later testimony from his peers, the tactical and flight training Harris provided to his outfit helped see them through the war.[8][9] His prowess on the wing would save a number of them in more direct fashion, both in dog fights and carrier landings. On October 29, Intrepid entered a squall with a Combat Air Patrol inbound. Though many from VB-18 and VT-18 were forced to water land, Harris used his dead reckoning and other navigation skills to find the carrier in the storm. He landed successfully and radioed information to men in the air, saving them from the risks of water landing and preserving valuable aircraft.[10]

After eleven weeks of flying combat missions from Intrepid with Air Group 18, Cecil Harris had scored 23 of the group's total 187 confirmed kills.[11] Half of Harris' VF-18 kills derive from three separate engagements in which he downed at least four Japanese planes: September 13 over the island of Negros,[12] October 12 over Formosa[13] and October 29 over Clark Field on Luzon.[14][15] This was a feat rarely replicated in U.S. Navy history. For each of these individual engagements Harris was awarded medals, culminating with the receipt of the Navy Cross for the actions of October 29.[16] On October 24, he shot down two Japanese floatplanes.[17]

The Kamikaze attacks (November 25, 1944) that put Intrepid out of commission for the tail end of the war also sent Air Group 18 packing, later to be replaced by Air Group 10. Harris remained stateside with VF-18 until the end of the war.

Post-War

As a member of the United States Naval Reserve Cecil Harris' commission effectively ended with the War. Upon returning home, he picked up where he left off before the war, completing his degree from Northern State Teachers College and resumed his teaching career, this time at Cresbard High School where he functioned variously as administrator, coach and teacher. He also married his sweetheart Eva at this time.

Harris was recalled from reserve status to active duty with the outbreak of the Korean War in 1951. On October 15, Harris reported to NAS Memphis for a two-month pilot refresher training before being assigned to NAS Pensacola for flight duty.[18] Following this post and a rank promotion to Captain, Harris served in the Air Warfare Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OpNav) at the Pentagon. After the Korean War he moved through a number of positions at different Naval Air Stations. He ultimately attained the rank of Captain and finished out his career in the Navy back at OpNav, this time as Head of the Aviation Periodicals and History Office. Harris retired July 1, 1967.

Awards and decorations

Harris received the following decorations:[19][20][16][21]

Vice Adimral Marc A. Mitscher presents the Navy Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Gold Star in lieu of a second DFC to Lieutenant Cecil E. Harris on 17 January 1945[21]

Recognition

On May 25, 2009, a segment of Highway 20 in South Dakota was designated the Cecil Harris Memorial Highway. Senators Johnson and Thune read their remembrances of Harris into the U.S. Congressional Record to mark the occasion.[23][24] In 2014, a statue of Harris was dedicated on the grounds of his alma mater, Northern State University.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Intrepid Ace Cecil Harris, by Stephen Sherman, at Acepilots.com; published June 1999; updated July 2, 2011; retrieved March 16, 2016
  2. ↑ American Fighter Aces, by Frank Olynyk et al. at Americanfighteraces.org.; retrieved March 13, 2016.
  3. ↑ South Dakota's 'Speedball', by Kaija Swisher at bhpioneer.com; published May 22, 2015; retrieved March 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ The Exponent, hosted at digitalcollections.northern.edu; originally published December 8, 1944; retrieved March 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Veteran Tributes Cecil E. Harris, by veterantributes.org; retrieved January 29, 2016.
  6. ↑ Barrett Tillman (15 July 1996). Hellcat Aces of World War 2. Osprey Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-85532-596-8.
  7. ↑ Harris More Than War Hero, by aberdeennews.com; published April 8, 2009; retrieved March 13, 2016.
  8. ↑ Campus statue honors U.S. Navy hero, NSU grad Cecil Harris, by northern.edu; retrieved March 13, 2016.
  9. ↑ Robert Gandt; Bill White (8 September 2009). Intrepid: The Epic Story of America's Most Legendary Warship. Broadway Books. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7679-2998-1.
  10. ↑ Wing Talk, by Robert Devore at Collier's Weekly; published Saturday May 19, 1945; hosted by unz.org; retrieved March 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ Barrett Tillman (11 October 2012). Hellcat: The F6F in World War II. Naval Institute Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-61251-189-4.
  12. ↑ Gregory G. Fletcher (3 July 2012). Intrepid Aviators: The American Flyers Who Sank Japan's Greatest Battleship. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-101-58696-9.
  13. ↑ Gurney, Gene (1958). Five Down and Glory. Putnam. p. 99. First Edition scan available via Archive.org
  14. ↑ Bolger, Joseph F. "Report of Air Ops Against Southern Luzon Island". Fold3. Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  15. ↑ Fletcher, pg. 312
  16. 1 2 Valor Awards for Cecil Elwood Harris, by militarytimes.com; retrieved March 13, 2016.
  17. ↑ Tillman, Barrett (1996-07-15). Hellcat Aces of World War 2. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781855325968.
  18. ↑ "Teacher Recalled as Navy War Ace". The Daily Plainsman. 1951-09-30. Retrieved April 13, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  19. ↑ "All Hands" (PDF). All Hands (Bureau of Naval Personnel Bulletin). January 1948. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  20. ↑ "All Hands" (PDF). All Hands (Bureau of Naval Personnel Bulletin). May 1947. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  21. 1 2 "80-G-297413". www.history.navy.mil. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  22. ↑ Tillman, Barrett (1997-07-01). U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II. Specialty Press. p. 139.
  23. ↑ Remembering Cecil E. Harris, recorded May 20, 2009; published by congress.gov; retrieved January 29, 2016.
  24. ↑ Commending Cecil Harris, see pg. 173; recorded July 16, 2009; published by congress.gov; PDF file; retrieved January 30, 2016.
  25. ↑ Cecil Harris Honored in Aberdeen, by John Andrews at southdakotamagazine.com; published June 17, 2014; retrieved January 29, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.