Posted by Terry Powers on November 25, 2022:

LESLIE EARL HARRIS, JR. LIEUTENANT COLONEL, U. S. AIR FORCE, SAN ANGELO, TOM GREEN COUNTY, TEXAS AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Air Force Pilot Wings, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Air Force Commendation's Medal, Air Force Longevity Medal with Three Arrow Heads, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal with 2 stars, American Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nation's Service Medal (Korea), Vietnam Service Medal, Southeast Pacific Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal BIOGRAPHY Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Earl Harris was born in Gary, Indiana. He grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee and attended Baylor Preparatory School. He attended the University of Chattanooga, his freshman year and then Purdue University and enlisted in the U. S. Army during World War II. He served in the India, Burma Theatre of operations in the Army Engineers achieving the rank of Master Sergeant. Prior to the end of the war, he received a Congressional appointment to attend West Point by Representative Estis Kefauver of Tennessee. He entered the Academy in the fall of 1945 as a plebe following three months attendance at Cornell University taking preparatory classes. He graduated from the USMA in the summer of 1949 and due to his desire to fly, he elected to take a commission in the Air Force. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and began flight training at Goodfellow Air Force Base. There he met his wife to be, May Hemphill, the granddaughter of the founders of Hemphill-Wells Deparment Stores. She was a divorcee with a five year old son. They married following his graduation from flight school in May, 1950. He adopted her son, William Paul "Scooter" Harris. He became a bomber pilot and was one of the first pilots trained in the B-50. In 1951, he was involved in a crash of a B-50 in the U.K. and walked away. He served as a bomber pilot in the Korean War and spent the following years in the Air Force with the Strategic Air Command. He completed the requirements for a MBA at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He was also selected to attend the Air Force Command and General Staff College. He served as an assistant to the Chief of Air Force Operation's Planning and Training at the Pentagon for four years. He then began a tour in Vietnam, and his wife re-located back to San Angelo while he was overseas. His tour began on May 21, 1967. He was assigned as the operation's officer for the 4th ACS, 14th ACS/SOW, 7th Air Force. On May 5, 1968, he was the commander of an AC-47D that was flying a "spooky" mission near Pleiku supporting ground troops. The aircraft received ground fire and was shot down and all aboard the aircraft perished. He was two weeks from completing his Vietnam tour. He was buried with full military honors at the Fairmount Cemetery in San Angelo. He was survived by his wife and his son, William P. Harris who was a student at Texas A&M. His wife was the granddaughter of one of the founding member of Hemphill Wells, a large department store in Texas. He was also survived by his mother, Mrs L.E. Harris of Chattanooga, Tennessee and his sister, Mrs. J. D. Stephens of Cleveland, Mississippi. Harris Hall at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas was named in his honor in 1985. His beloved wife May died in 2007 and now rests next to him. Source: www.findagrave.com/memorial/19455649/leslie-earl-harris Spouse May Hemphill Harris 1924-2007 From Amarillo Globe New, December 4, 2007 May Hemphill Harris, 83, of Amarillo died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007. Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Hillside Christian Church Chapel with the Rev. Roy Wheeler and the Rev. Bob Schroeder officiating. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in Fairmont Cemetery in San Angelo with the Rev. Allen Conkling of Emmanuel Episcopal Church officiating. Arrangements are by Cox-LaGrone Funeral Home, 4180 Canyon Drive. May was born Oct. 10, 1924, in San Angelo to W.M. and Maurine Leffel Hemphill, the eldest of three children. She graduated from San Angelo Central High School and attended the University of Texas at Austin. She married 1st Lt. Leslie E. Harris Jr. in San Angelo on Aug. 14, 1950. The couple was stationed at several training stations, then were based in Savannah, Ga., Lake Charles, La., and eventually Shreveport, La., at the 2nd Air Force Headquarters. Their final home together was in McLean, Va. After a tour at the Pentagon, Col. Harris was transferred to Vietnam, where he was killed in action on May 5, 1968. After Les began his tour in Vietnam, May moved back to San Angelo and served as the executive director of the National Miss Wool and Mohair Pageant. She lived in Austin when she worked with the National Wool and Mohair Council, before moving back to San Angelo in 1978 to take care of her mother after her father's death. May began her career with the federal court system in San Angelo on Sept. 25, 1978, and later was promoted and transferred to Amarillo with the court in November 1983. She was responsible for providing leadership and direction for the Amarillo office providing assistance to judges, bar, governmental agencies and the general public. She was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the clerk's office, maintained all divisional financial accounts and supervised all Amarillo clerk's office personnel. She retired from the court on Dec. 31, 1993. During her tenure with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, she worked for two U.S. District Judges, the Honorable Halbert O. Woodward, deceased, and the Honorable Mary Lou Robinson, as well as Magistrate Judge Clinton E. Averitte and Magistrate Judge Philip R. Lane. After her retirement, besides spending time with her family and her dogs and cat, she worked as a volunteer with National Multiple Sclerosis and the Amarillo Independent School District in its HOSTS reading program. She was a member of the Keenagers at Hillside Christian Church and enjoyed helping with the meal during its annual Christmas pageant. She attended Paramount Terrace Christian Church in Amarillo, but continued to maintain her membership at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in San Angelo. Survivors include a son, William P. Harris and wife Marge of Amarillo; a brother, Bob Hemphill of Payson, Ariz.; Peyton W. Sparks, husband of her deceased sister, Nancy Sparks; and several cousins, nieces and nephews. The family suggests memorials be to Animal Rescue Shelter of Amarillo, 12500 FM 1541, Amarillo, 79118, or the Humane Society of Tom Green County, 3142 N. U.S. Highway 67, San Angelo, TX 76905-4454. SOURCE: www.findagrave.com/memorial/40060704/may-harris

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