Cecil E. Harris
Upon returning to school he enrolled in a civilian pilot training course, which ultimately led to his enlistment in the United States Naval Reserve on March 26, 1941.Meager anti-aircraft fire and fair visibility allowed the air group to drop in excess of 46 short tons (42,000 kg) of ordnance on its first day of bonafide combat.Fighters reported moderate to intense anti-aircraft fire of all calibers during strikes on Mindanao September 9, but enemy pilots remained scarce.Air Group Commander (CAG) William Ellis personally witnessed his torpedo squadron score two direct hits on the runway at Matina field with 1 short ton (910 kg) bombs.During the dawn fighter sweep, he led a division to Davao Gulf that sunk two small craft and left a third, larger one ablaze.By the time the strike force crossed over the coast of Negros, USS Bunker Hill's Air Group 8 was already engaging Japanese interceptors.Harris spotted the enemy early on and led his division down in pursuit, chasing the Japanese fighter away from the air group and back into the cloud cover from which it had appeared.Harris and company followed him down through the clouds into the open skies above Fabrica airfield, where a "hornets nest" of enemy planes was waiting for them.[45][note 1] One of the last actions taken before the task group retired to Ulithi for the remainder of September was a long-range, fighter-bomber strike on shipping in Coron Bay.Half of Harris's credited kills were achieved in October, coinciding with Japanese planners' final attempt at provoking a decisive battle with the American fleet.Just shy of Taien Airfield, VF-18 pilots spotted six Japanese bombers working their way down through a layer of clouds, seemingly on a landing approach.There they spotted another Yokosuka D4Y ("Judy") being chased by a CAP Hellcat unable to hit his target—it turned out the guns on his new plane were not properly adjusted.All hands in the long line of support throughout the Navy are grateful for the opportunity of working for such a team — James Forrestal In its recent crucial offensive the THIRD FLEET has been a source of pride to us all and has inflicted destruction and disaster on our enemy which he will not forget.USS Bunker Hill and Hancock were also detached from TG 38.2 at this time, leaving Intrepid the sole Essex-class aircraft carrier in its group.When Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force was sighted entering the Sibuyan Sea on October 24, the only task group readily available to strike was the shorthanded TG 38.2.[57] Those assigned to the day's three strikes took on Center Force and its Yamato-class battleship, fearsome vessels bristling with armaments including nine 18.1-inch (460 mm) guns.However, Center Force was able to limp back through San Bernardino Strait with Japanese battleship Yamato and a number of other ships intact.After reports filtered in alerting Admiral William Halsey Jr. to the danger posed by the remainder of Center Force, he ordered TG 38.2 to head south at full speed to reengage.Obscuring cloud cover, intense anti-aircraft fire and sheer flight distance contributed to mixed results for the air group.The initial search and subsequent strike located parts of Center Force in the Cuyo East Pass off the western coast of Panay.This was something of a letdown for the pilots of Air Group 18, but they were still proud of their results at Leyte: five strikes against two separate Japanese forces causing serious damage to both, including the sinking of carriers and one of the largest battleships ever constructed.Despite solid tactical flying from the Japanese, and an early disadvantage in height for the Americans, the Intrepid fighters claimed at least 10 more enemy aircraft including two more for Harris, bringing his day's total four.[23] Task Group 38.2 remained off the eastern coast of Luzon for the first week of November providing continued support to U.S. Army forces at Leyte.[70] By this time Japan was reeling from the effects of Operation Cartwheel, which had deprived it of fuel needed to get planes off the ground; its air force was short on experienced and even freshly trained pilots, who were lost in huge numbers in conflicts like the Battle of the Philippine Sea;[71] and finally, it lacked an effective seagoing navy since the back of the IJN had been broken at the Battle of Leyte Gulf the previous month.[72] These factors, in tandem with a week spent refueling, rearming and re-provisioning at Ulithi between November 7 and 14, limited opportunities for Harris to further run up his score.[74] Intrepid went to general quarters a number of times throughout the day's strikes and into the evening as enemy planes tested the perimeter of the task group.Cecil Harris flew two sorties: the initial fighter sweep over the island of Luzon itself, and Strike 2C, scheduled to search for enemy cruisers in Balanacan Bay.He ultimately attained the rank of captain and finished out his career in the Navy back at OpNav, this time as Head of the Aviation Periodicals and History Office.[79][80] Harris received the following decorations:[81][23] The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Cecil Elwood Harris, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron Eighteen (VF-18), attached to the USS Intrepid (CV-11), in action against enemy Japanese forces on Luzon, Philippine Islands, on 29 October 1944.By his courageous initiative, superb airmanship and fearless devotion to the fulfillment of a hazardous mission, Lieutenant Harris contributed materially to the success of our operations in this strategic area, and his personal valor in the face of grave peril upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Faulkton, South DakotaGroveton, VirginiaArlington National CemeteryUnited States NavyCaptainUSS SuwanneeUSS IntrepidWorld War IIOperation TorchSolomon Islands CampaignPhilippines campaignKorean WarNavy CrossSilver StarDistinguished Flying CrossAir Medalflying acePacific Ocean TheaterMedal of HonorDavid McCampbellNorthern State Teachers CollegeAberdeen, South DakotaOnaka, South DakotaUnited States Naval ReserveNAS Corpus Christiescort carrierGrumman F4F WildcatGuadalcanalNegros IslandFormosaClark FieldNielsen FieldfloatplaneskamikazeUSS HancockPearl HarborNAS AstoriaNAS North IslandGrumman F8F BearcatA6M ZekeA6M Zeke 32Ki-21 SallyKi-48 LilyD4Y JudyF1M PeteKi-44 TojoBabelthuapMindanaoDavao GulfVisayasUSS Bunker Hill"Zero"Fabrica7 o'clockHellcatAdmiral Gerald F. Bogan'sBattle of PeleliunapalmAngaurSubic BayUlithidecisive battleflagshipOkinawaRyukyusYontanIe ShimaShinchiku AirfieldcalibersMatsuyama AirfieldYokosuka D4YJames ForrestalSixth Army'sinvasion of LeyteAparriLaog AirfieldDouglas MacArthurMitsubishi Ki-21San Jose air baseBattle of Leyte GulfEssex-class aircraft carrierAdmiral Takeo Kurita'sSibuyan SeaYamato-classbattleshipPalawan IslandMitsubishi F1MsJapanese battleship MusashiSan Bernardino StraitJapanese battleship YamatoWilliam Halsey Jr.devastated the escort carrier unit "Taffy 3"Kongō-classbattlecruiserNagato-class battleshipAichi D3A Type 99 Carrier BomberNakajima Ki-44Operation CartwheelBattle of the Philippine SeaBatangasNAS MemphisNAS PensacolaThe PentagonBreathalyzerNaval Aviator insigniaPresidential Unit CitationNaval Reserve MedalAmerican Defense Service MedalAmerican Campaign MedalEuropean–African–Middle Eastern Campaign MedalAsiatic–Pacific Campaign MedalWorld War II Victory MedalNational Defense Service MedalPhilippine Liberation MedalPresidential Unit Citation (Philippines)PutnamPenguin Publishing GroupHarperNaval Institute PressOsprey PublishingBloomsbury PublishingBogan, Gerald F.National Archives and Records AdministrationAncestry.comHalsey, William F. Jr.Mitscher, Marc A.