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Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 756th Tank Battalion.
Place and date: At Vagney, France, 7 October 1944. Entered service at:
Hillsboro, Tex. Birth: Hillsboro, Tex. G.O. No.: 32, 23 April 1945. Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond
the call of duty on 7 October 1944, in Vagney, France. At 9 p.m. an enemy
raiding party, comprising a tank and 2 platoons of infantry, infiltrated
through the lines under cover of mist and darkness and attacked an infantry
battalion command post with hand grenades, retiring a short distance to
an ambush position on hearing the approach of the M-4 tank commanded by
2d Lt. Harris. Realizing the need for bold aggressive action, 2d Lt. Harris
ordered his tank to halt while he proceeded on foot, fully 10 yards ahead
of his 6-man patrol and armed only with a service pistol, to probe the
darkness for the enemy. Although struck down and mortally wounded by machinegun
bullets which penetrated his solar plexus, he crawled back to his tank,
leaving a trail of blood behind him, and, too weak to climb inside it,
issued fire orders while lying on the road between the 2 contending armored
vehicles. Although the tank which he commanded was destroyed in the course
of the fire fight, he stood the enemy off until friendly tanks, preparing
to come to his aid, caused the enemy to withdraw and thereby lose an opportunity
to kill or capture the entire battalion command personnel. Suffering a
second wound, which severed his leg at the hip, in the course of this tank
duel, 2d Lt. Harris refused aid until after a wounded member of his crew
had been carried to safety. He died before he could be given medical attention.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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