HARRIS, HAROLD LEE

Name: Harold Lee Harris
Rank/Branch: E3/US Army
Unit: Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division
Date of Birth: 29 November 1946
Home City of Record: Durham NC
Date of Loss: 22 October 1966
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 141354N 1080044E (BR778750)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 0501
Other Personnel In Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 2020.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: PFC Harris was a rifleman on a combat mission with his unit in
Binh Dinh region of South Vietnam on October 22, 1966. While attempting to
cross a stream, Harris and another member of the unit were swept away by
swift current, and last seen being tossed over and over by the current of
the stream.

A thorough search of the area was made, and the body of the other member of
the team was recovered four days later, but not that of PFC Harris. The
search continued another day, and was then terminated. PFC Harold Harris was
a month shy of his 20th birthday.

Harris is listed with honor among the missing because his remains were not
recovered. His case seems quite clear. For others who are listed missing,
resolution is not as simple. Many were known to have survived their loss
incident. Quite a few were in radio contact with search teams and describing
an advancing enemy. Some were photographed or recorded in captivity. Others
simply vanished without a trace.

Reports continue to mount that we abandoned hundreds of Americans to the
enemy when we left Southeast Asia. While Harris may not be among them, he
serves as a reminder of those who still await our action to bring them home.

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01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZknEAG

PFC HAROLD LEE HARRIS

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On October 22, 1966, soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, were on a combat mission in the Binh Dinh region of South Vietnam when they attempted to cross a stream. Two soldiers were swept away by the swift current. A thorough search was conducted but the soldiers could not be found at the time. Four days later the body of one of the soldiers was discovered. The body of the second soldier was not recovered.

Private First Class Harold Lee Harris, who joined the U.S. Army from North Carolina, served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was swept away by the current and his body was not recovered. Today, Private First Class Harris is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

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