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Last Summer in Altus
(February 23, 2010)
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It was the spring of 1941 and the only son of Virgil and Nell
Harris, Billie Dowe, had just graduated from Altus High School. War
was raging in Europe but that was a long way from southwest Oklahoma
and the Harris family. Within a year their lives would change
forever. The Japanese attacked in December that year and by the
following summer Billie was an Army Air Corp flying cadet. He was
sent to San Antonio, Texas for flight training.
After earning his second lieutenant commission and his pilot wings
he was posted in Florida for advance flight training in 1943. During
this time he returned home to Altus and married his sweetheart Peggy
Seale of Vernon, Texas. The newlywed's time together was cut short
when a troop ship full of trained aircrew members was sunk by a
U-Boat in the Atlantic and Billie's flight | |
Van E. Harl |
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training in Florida was curtailed, to rush his class of
desperately needed new pilots to England in October of 1943. |
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He was assigned to the 355th Fighter Squadron stationed at Greenham
Common Air Base in southeast England. He qualified in the P-51
Mustang, which was one of the newest fighters in the inventory in
1943 and started flying bomber support missions into the heart of
Germany. In April of 1944 the 355th moved to Boxted, England and
continued missions into Germany. But the mission changed for the
355th with the invasion of Normandy, France.
The fighters were now attacking ground targets, such as railroads
and army convoys. Now First Lieutenant Harris was flying multiple
daily strafing missions across the English Channel to support the
Allied move off the beaches of Normandy. On 18 June 1944, the 355th
moved to Cricqueville, France and set up flying operations from a
dirt runway in the French country side. Billie had flown his
required missions and was supposed to be on a ship home to the
States, but with all the wounded there was little room to spare for
a healthy fighter pilot. So he stayed in France and kept flying the
low level strafing runs.
He had to shift from the P51 in the middle of air battlefield and
start flying the P-47. Who knows if this played a major part in
Billie's July 17, 1944 mission, but of the 100 planes that went out
that day, his P-47 never returned to base. Peggy Harris was notified
that Billie was missing in action. The Army however did not know
what had happened to the aircraft. No one saw the plane crash, no US
or Allied military. The Germans saw the plane go down and so did the
local French. The P-47 fighter set down in the woods outside of
Lesventes, France, about 90 miles southwest of Paris. It landed in
trees and was cushioned on impact so the fighter did not break-up or
catch on fire.
French resistance members were the first to get to the aircraft and
discovered that Billie Harris was dead. They removed his handgun and
code books and then left the area because the Germans were
approaching. All the Germans took was the parachute. The residents
of Lesventes recovered the body and buried Billie in the town
cemetery.
Because his name was Billie D. Harris the locals assumed his name
was Billie D'Harris and since that sounded French, then Billie must
be Canadian. Because of this, they honored his grave until 2005 with
a Canadian Flag. The remains were moved to an American Cemetery in
Colleville-sur-Mer France in 1946. The problem was the Army knew
where Billie was, but Peggy was never advised. It took the work of
Billie's cousin Alton Harvey, formally of Altus, to start the
serious search for what had happened to 1Lt. Harris.
In April of 2006 Alton Harvey and his wife escorted Peggy Harris to
the village of Lesventes to see the original grave site of Billie
and to meet some of the folks who buried him as war was destroying
that same village. They then traveled to Normandy to see Billie's
final grave site among all the white crosses looking out over the
beaches so many died on.
Peggy was the first WWII widow to visit a grave at that cemetery in
the past five years. We are running out of time to remember our WWII
fallen veterans. If you know a veteran help document their personal
history.
Alton Harvey you have uncovered the history, please write the book.
We all must remember. | |
By
Van E. Harl
Copyright
2006 About Author:
Major Van E. Harl, USAF Ret., was a career police officer in the U.S. Air
Force. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the
Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. Major Harl is a graduate of
the U.S. Army Infantry School, the Air Force Squadron Officer School and the Air
Command and Staff College. After retiring from the Air Force he was a state
police officer in Nevada.
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