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Gregory John Harris
Master Sergeant
H BTRY, 3RD BN, 11TH MARINES, 1ST MARDIV, III MAF United States Marine Corps Syracuse, New York October 01, 1945 to February 26, 1980 (Incident Date June 12, 1966) GREGORY J HARRIS is on the Wall at Panel 8E, Line 42 |
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Corporal Gregory Harris was the radio operator for an artillery Forward Observer team operating with the 5th RVN Marine Battalion. On 12 June 1966 the battalion was conducting a a search and destroy mission when it was attacked by Viet Cong forces and suffered heavy losses. Two Marine officers (Captain Thomas J. Kennedy, Naval Advisory Group, and 2nd Lt Richard T Armstrong, Hotel 3/11) with the 5th ARVN Marine Battalion were killed and Cpl Harris could not be located. The battlefield remained in Viet Cong hands through the night of 12/13 June. On 13 June friendly forces regained control of the area and recovered both dead and wounded. Two wounded Vietnamese Marines reported seeing Corporal Harris; one reported that Harris had moved into an area of heavy foliage while the other reported seeing Harris captured by the enemy. Both Vietnamese died of their wounds before they could be questioned further. ARVN agents in the area at the time reported on 14 Jun 66 that two Vietnamese Marines were captured by the Viet Cong. There was no mention of an American prisoner. All the personnel that were with the 5th RVN Marine Battalion on 12 Jun 1966 were accounted for except the two Vietnamese Marines who were reported captured and Corporal Harris. Corporal Harris was classed as Missing in Action. His name never appeared on a Prisoner of War list, he was not released with the other POWs in February 1973, and his remains were never repatriated. On 26 Feb 1980, 14 years after his loss, the Secretary of the Navy approved a Presumptive Finding of Death, changing his status from MIA to Died while Missing.
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Junny Jackson |
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The family of CPL Gregory J Harris, USMC, invites you to view our remembrance page for our fallen hero. We are still fighting to bring him home .... and he will come home.
All our love, |
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Some time during the summer of 1970 my Father, who is retired Army at the rank of W4, got two POW bracelets. He wore one and my Mother wore the other. I do not remember what happened to the one my Father wore but eventually he took it off. My Mother took hers off just a couple of months after putting it on. So in August of 1970, I took her bracelet and put it on. It says S/SGT. GREGORY HARRIS and below that 6/66. It has never been off my wrist since I put it on and I still wear this bracelet. As I have grown and studied history and gained an understanding of what this bracelet really means, I have used it to make others aware of not only the horrors of war, but the individual men who have fought and died for our freedom. I have tried to make people realize that we all want peace, but sometimes we must fight. And no matter how horrible war is, there are men and women willing to endure these horrors so we can have the life we have. I have also tried to make people realize that not all of our heros have made it home from Vietnam. My bracelet is cracked and I am afraid I may have to take it off. I want to have it soldered or repaired in some way so it can remain a daily reminder to anyone who sees me of that which has been sacrificed for our freedom and for the greatest nation on this earth.
Todd Prater |
A Note from The Virtual WallThe three Marines killed with the 5th ARVN Marines at Phuoc Dien (1), about 15 kilometers south of Quang Ngai City, were
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