Leslie Harris recalled how dark it was on D-Day when they flew across the Channel at night. Enemy antiaircraft tracer fire provided the only light. He made his jump and ended up landing in one of the flooded irrigation ditches. He thought he would die in the water with all the weight from his pack. But he made it out. He used his “cricket,” and was happy to hear the “cricket” reply. The two soldiers wandered around through the night until they met more of the 501st, 502nd, and the 506th. “It was kind of chaotic for awhile,” Les said, and the fighting “was a blur” until they were transferred back to England in August, 1944.

Les Harris was born in Canada and his family moved to Chicago when he was very young. After his high school graduation, Les and a friend both raised $50, and decided to hitchhike out to California. They took the famous Highway 66, and made the round trip on that same $50! He tried to enlist when the war started, but had trouble due to his Canadian citizenship. A short time later, however, he received his draft notice anyway. He volunteered for the parachute troops, and was assigned to the 101st Airborne, 501st Division. This hazardous duty paid an extra $50 per month!

After Normandy and during the staging for the jump for Operation Market Garden in Holland, Les remembered hearing someone calling out to him. It was his cousin Pete, a pilot for the paratroop planes. Pete got permission to fly Les and his company for the planned jump. During the flight, Les told Pete that he didn’t want to land in the water again. He could die, he explained, or his gun might not work for days. Pete gave him his 45 sidearm and told him if he crashed, he wouldn’t need it! But Les recalled that it was the softest landing he ever had, and he carried Pete’s gift for the rest of war. An injury caused by shrapnel while in Holland took him out of action for awhile.

He returned in time for the Siege of Bastogne, part of the larger Battle of the Bulge, and Les recalled how very cold it was. “Icicles would form” in his foxhole overnight, he remembered, caused by the steam from his body. Four of his buddies were sent to the hospital with frozen feet, but then the hospital was taken over by the Germans. Les felt that he was lucky he wasn’t there.

When he returned to Chicago, he became a U.S. citizen and married Evelyn. They raised three children, and have been blessed with two grandchildren. Les worked as a carpenter for a small company for forty years, building spiral staircases. He is very excited about the Honor Flight Chicago trip and will carry a picture of his late cousin Pete. Honor Flight Chicago is proud to welcome this intrepid soldier aboard. Thanks for your service, Les, and our thanks to Pete as well.

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