William Frederick Harris
| William Frederick Harris | |
|---|---|
Lt Col William Harris
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Bill F. Harris |
| Born |
March 6, 1918 Lexington, Kentucky |
| Died | December 7, 1950 (aged 32) Changjin County, South Hamgyong, North Korea |
| Place of Burial | Pisgah Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Versailles, Kentucky |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Marine Corps
|
| Years of service | 1939–1950 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant Colonel
|
| Service number | 0-5917 |
| Commands held | 3rd Battalion 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division |
| Battles/wars |
World War II, Battle of Corregidor Korean War, Battle of Chosin Reservoir |
| Awards |
Navy Cross Purple Heart |
| Relations | Field Harris (father) |
William Frederick Harris (6 March 1918 – 7 December 1950) was a United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel during the Korean War. He was the son of USMC General Field Harris, a Prisoner of War during World War II and a recipient of the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism during the breakout in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. He was last seen by American forces on 7 December 1950, was listed missing in action and is presumed to have been killed in action. Harris was featured in the book and film Unbroken.
William Frederick Harris was born on 6 March 1918 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky to Field Harris (1895–1967) and Katherine Chinn-Harris (1899–1990). Harris graduated from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland in the class of 1939. Harris was in A Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines and was captured by Japanese forces during the Battle of Corregidor in May 1942. He escaped with Edgar Whitcomb, future Governor of Indiana, and on 22 May 1942 swam 8 1/2 hours across Manila Bay to Bataan where he joined Filipino guerrillas fighting Japan just after the Battle of Bataan. In the summer of 1942, Harris and two others left Whitcomb and attempted to sail to China in a motorboat, but the engine failed and the boat drifted for 29 days with little food or water. The monsoon blew them back to an island in the southern part of the Philippines where they split up and he joined another resistance group. Harris headed towards Australia hoping to rejoin American forces he heard were fighting in Guadalcanal, but he was recaptured in June or September 1943 by Japan on Morotai island, Indonesia, around 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Bataan.
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Wikipedia