Enlisted on 9 March 1969 at age 17 while in senior year of high school.  Forced to retire on 27 October 2013 at the age of 62 and two months after having served continuously as a member of the U.S. Army for 44 years, 7 months and 18 days, with over 42 and a half years on flying status.
Last military aviator from any branch of service who flew combat missions in Vietnam, to retire while still on full, uniformed flight status.  Proud to have still been on flight status & drawing Max ACIP (Flight Pay), for two months after I was eligible to start drawing Social Security.
Presented with the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award in 2021, for having safely accumulated over 50 years of continuous, combined military and civil piloting experience.
Retired from the U.S. Department of State; flew UH-1H+ "Super Hueys" for the Kern County Fire Department until November, 2021; wife Jeanne, still teaches second grade. Â
Other Comments:
BARSTOW-DAGGETT Airport, Calif. (December 13, 2011) --
91st Division soldier speaks at Ft. Irwin Huey retirement
Chief Warrant Officer 5 John M. Harris talks about his experiences in a
Huey to the guests assembled at the Huey retirement ceremony at Fort
Irwin, CA.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Van Tuinen
Story by Staff Sgt. Robert Van Tuinen
Chief Warrant Officer 5 John M. Harris, Senior
Aviation Observer/Controller for the 91st Training Division
and an Instructor Pilot for the NTC, was the guest speaker
for the National Training Center UH-1 retirement ceremony.
The last three UH-1 Iroquois Huey aircraft that
were part of the National Training Center inventory at Fort
Irwin, ceased operations Dec. 15, 2011, by Department of
the Army Directive. Within a year there will not be any
Hueys operated by the U. S. Army.
The ceremony was hosted by Bravo Company,
2916th Aviation Battalion at the NTC Aviation Companys
Hanger, Barstow-Daggett Airport, about 12 miles east of
Barstow, Ca. Harris was asked to speak at this event by Col.
Brown, NTC Chief of Staff and also the senior Army Aviator
assigned to the NTC. Harris opened his speech by saying:
"It is an honor for me, as allegedly the last Vietnam Huey
Aircraft Commander who is still in uniform on Army flight
status and still flying Hueys, to be here today and to share
with you my thoughts on this occasion." Harris has served
over 42 years in the U. S. Army including time in Vietnam,
Korea, Jamaica, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, OEF, OIF and Qatar.
He has received many decorations to
include the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.
Many other veteran Huey pilots and mechanics
were able to attend the event. Current pilots and support
staff for the UH-1 Iroquois received awards for their service.
Ft. Irwin Post Commander Brig. Gen. Terry Ferrell
and Post Command Sgt. Maj. Nathan E. Buckner attended
as well.
Harris concluded his speech with the words: "I will
paraphrase retired General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
by saying, Old Hueys never die; they just fade away,
and each and every one of us can warmly recall our powerful
memories of her as she gracefully, just fades away."
Following the ceremony the last three Hueys performed a
flyover; the lead Huey piloted by Harris. The guests then
watched them gracefully fade away, symbolizing the end of
their service at Fort Irwin.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Van Tuinen
Sgt. Major Rupertson Espinosa, Chief
Warrant Officer 5 John M. Harris and
1st Sgt. Jon Sevilla stand in front of the
UH-1 Huey that Harris would later
fly to lead the team of three Hueys in
a flyover before all three faded away
into the distance symbolizing the end
of their service at Ft. Irwin. https://www.army.mil/article/71855/UH_1_helicopters_retire_from_service_at_National_Training_Center/
(See video below)
FORT IRWIN, Calif. (April 16, 2012) -- On April 4, two simple words made a big impact on several hundred Vietnam-era veterans gathered at Fort Irwin -- "thank you."
The veterans took part in Fort Irwin's third annual Vietnam-era Veterans Welcome Home ceremony. The day's events kicked off with a motorcycle parade made up of several hundred veterans, Soldiers, and community members who made their way from the California Veterans Home-Barstow to Fort Irwin.
On reaching the installation, the riders were greeted by the students of Fort Irwin Middle School and Tiefort View Intermediate School, who lined the streets armed with signs, flags, and enthusiasm. For some veterans, it was the first time anyone had thanked them for their service.
"I didn't get a very good welcome, so it puts a smile on your face to finally be welcomed home," said Mike Miller, an employee of Northrop Grumman at Fort Irwin and Marine Corps Vietnam veteran. "At one time I wouldn't even admit I was a Vietnam veteran."
The motorcycle parade ended at Army Field, where veterans and the community could observe static displays of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, as well as UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" helicopters.
"The 2012 welcome home event isn't about the war, it isn't about blame, and it isn't about the protesters," said Hayley Violand, the event's master of ceremonies. "It is about understanding."
Brig. Gen. Terry Ferrell, commander of the National Training Center and Fort Irwin, thanked the veterans for taking the time to attend the ceremony.
"What is so fitting about today is that this welcome home ceremony is taking place at the National Training Center, because these kids coming through here will be the future veterans," Ferrell said.
The ceremony's featured guest speaker, Chief Warrant Officer 5 John Harris, holds several unique historical distinctions. In addition to being one of the last Vietnam veterans to continue serving in uniform, he was also the last Army reservist to be voluntarily mobilized and deployed to Vietnam, and was among the last 500 Americans to leave the country, on Mar. 28, 1973. A UH-1 Huey helicopter pilot for over 40 years, Harris reflected on the aircraft's role in the Vietnam War and in the lives of Soldiers. The Huey was officially retired from the National Training Center's inventory in December 2011.
"To those assembled today who have had the honor to fly, crew or ride in this magnificent machine, we are the chosen ones," Harris said. "No other helicopter in the history of aviation evokes the feelings she does."
Harris wore his Army uniform from his Vietnam days to the ceremony, which he said was dedicated to the memory of WO-1 Anthony Dal Pozzo, Harris' platoon mate and the last Army helicopter pilot and Huey crew member, to be killed in Vietnam.
"Those of us who went know we did serve honorably, that we did the right thing with the right intention," Harris said. "We paved the way for our current brethren. Thank you and welcome home, my brothers."
Fort Irwin Soldiers presented the veterans with commemorative pins as a sign of respect and gratitude for their service.
"It's really good how they treat the Soldiers now," said Stephen Wright, a retired Army sergeant first class who served in Vietnam. "They're the ones who deserve respect." (See video below)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Favorite Movie:
Mister Roberts is absolutely my #1 military movie of all time. From the first time I saw it when I was about 12 years of age, Henry Fonda's character, LT(jg) Doug Roberts, provided lessons on how one should always do the right thing as a group leader. It also showed that if it should happen, several strategies regarding how to best confront and overcome horrible leadership above you and to not take an unwarranted "No", as a final answer.Â
When I was told that it would be impossible in 1972 to get activated from the USAR as a 20-year old novice helicopter pilot & deployed for combat duty in Vietnam, I recalled how Roberts character in the film, overcame his obstacles and obtained a combat assignment. I stayed the course, got my mobilization and deployment orders, and when I finally arrived in Vietnam, I again thanked this film for its inspiration.
On 10 June 1999, the UN Security Council adopted a detailed resolution that outlined the civil administration and peacekeeping responsibilities in Kosovo and paved the way for peaceful settlement of the conflict and the safe return home of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanian refugees and displaced persons. The resolution was passed under Chapter VII of the UN Charter which allowed the security forces to carry weapons to protect themselves and use force in carrying out the resolution's directives. The resolution "authorizes member states and relevant international organizations to establish the international security presence in Kosovo" as set out in the military agreement between NATO and the FRY. That peacekeeping operation was meant to enforce the cease-fire, demilitarize the KLA and other Kosovo Albanian groups, and establish a secure environment for the return of the refugees.
The force had a unified NATO chain of command under the political direction of the North Atlantic Council in consultation with non-NATO force contributors. The NATO countries were united that in the absence of the NATO Joint Guardian force at the core of any international security presence in Kosovo, the refugees would not return and the other NATO objectives would not be met. A NATO force at the core of an international security presence was regarded as the magnet to attract the refugees back. In the absence of a NATO force with American participation, it was the view of the US Government that it was unrealistic to think the Kosovar Albanians would disarm the KLA, something of great interest to Russia. The US believed that if NATO forces deployed, the rationale for the Kosovar Liberation Army having an armed force to protect itself against Serbs would disappear. The Rambouillet envisaged something like 2,500 Serb military and 2,500 police for a year, though with the commencement of Operation Allied Force NATO required all of those forces going, in views of the probability that the Kosovar Albanians would not come home to a situation where those same forces remain at their posts. NATO envisaged the standing up of thousands of Kosovar Albanian police, including possibly people from the KLA, who would be trained by the international community and could serve police functions.
NATO did not contemplate a partition of Kosovo. It had been unofficially suggested that one possible solution was a de facto partition of Kosovo whereby the Russians would patrol the north, the mineral-rich areas, and NATO would patrol the south.
Before Allied Force began operating, NATO had plans to put in a peacekeeping force of 28,000 people. Of that, 4,000 people would have been Americans. By mid-May 1999 NATO had reassessed its Op Plan for the Joint Guardian mission to see to what degree they would need reinforcement beyond the level that was originally foreseen for the KFOR [Kosovo force] international security presence in Kosovo. NATO had 16,000 troops deployed in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia trained for their mission as well as dealing with the enormous refugee inflow. Certain reinforcements from the UK and from Germany were arrived as of mid-May.
The NATO pre-deployment in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was conducted to be in a position to move very quickly into Kosovo to set up an initial military command structure and an initial infrastructure to get the basic functions going. The goal was not only for other NATO troops to come in quickly but also for the transition authority and for the humanitarian relief organizations, which in the very early stages would need a great deal of military back-up, to establish themselves by the time the NATO core element was on the ground in Kosovo.
