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.
Description The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 19 March to 1 May 2003 and signaled the start of the conflict that later came to be known as the Iraq War, which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States (prior to 19 March, the mission in Iraq was called Operation Enduring Freedom, a carryover from the conflict in Afghanistan). The invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The invasion phase consisted primarily of a conventionally fought war which concluded with the capture of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad by American forces.
Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from 19 March to 9 April 2003. These were the United States (148,000), United Kingdom (45,000), Australia (2,000), and Poland (194). 36 other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion, 100,000 U.S. troops were assembled in Kuwait by 18 February. The coalition forces also received support from Kurdish irregulars in Iraqi Kurdistan.
According to U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the coalition mission was "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people." General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme NATO Allied Commander and Joint Chiefs of Staff Director of Strategy and Policy, describes in his 2003 book, Winning Modern Wars, his conversation with a military officer in the Pentagon shortly after 9/11 regarding a plan to attack seven Middle Eastern countries in five years: "As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan." Others place a much greater emphasis on the impact of the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the role this played in changing U.S. strategic calculations, and the rise of the freedom agenda. According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of alleged nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace.
In a January 2003 CBS poll, 64% of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq; however, 63% wanted Bush to find a diplomatic solution rather than go to war, and 62% believed the threat of terrorism directed against the U.S. would increase due to war. The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand. Their leaders argued that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading the country was not justified in the context of UNMOVIC's 12 February 2003 report. On 15 February 2003, a month before the invasion, there were worldwide protests against the Iraq War, including a rally of three million people in Rome, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest ever anti-war rally. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war.
The invasion was preceded by an air strike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 19 March 2003. The following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Province from their massing point close to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. While the special forces launched an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf to secure Basra and the surrounding petroleum fields, the main invasion army moved into southern Iraq, occupying the region and engaging in the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the defending army into chaos and prevented an effective resistance. On 26 March, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was airdropped near the northern city of Kirkuk, where they joined forces with Kurdish rebels and fought several actions against the Iraqi army to secure the northern part of the country.
The main body of coalition forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq and met with little resistance. Most of the Iraqi military was quickly defeated and Baghdad was occupied on 9 April. Other operations occurred against pockets of the Iraqi army including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April, and the attack and capture of Tikrit on 15 April. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country. On 1 May, an end of major combat operations was declared, ending the invasion period and beginning the military occupation period.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
March / 2003
To Month/Year
May / 2003
Last Updated: Oct 9, 2024
Personal Memories
Memories Invasion of Iraq by CJSOTF-W from Jordan. Hqs at Al Jafir Airbase.
