Jesse M Harrison
MilitaryJesse Harrison of Rocky Hill, CT, served as a C-47 pilot in Europe during World War II.
He bailed out of a burning aircraft over Holland on 19 September 1944. This is how he described it, as reported by the Hartford Courant:
"I had my crew bail out and I stayed with the plane until the glider could make a safe landing on the assigned landing area, at which time I bailed out, receiving 2nd and 3rd degree burns to my waist. Two Dutch priests got to me and wrapped me in my parachute and then got the paratroopers to come to get me and take me to their field hospital. The hospital said that they could not properly treat me and that I needed to be taken to a hospital in friendly territory. Somehow those paratroopers got me across four canals and to a field hospital in Brussels, Belgium."
For a detailed account of his wartime service and his life story see the article published by the Hartford Courant on 24 May 2015:
http://www.courant.com/community/rocky-hill/hc-rocky-hill-jesse-harriso…
A transcript of the interview available on YouTube has been made available as part of the Veterans' History Project: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.64285/tran…
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Troop Carrier
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 435th Troop Carrier Group
- Service Numbers: O-675423
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Centerville, MO 63633, USA | 21 April 1921 | |
|
Enlisted |
8 December 1941 | ||
|
Other Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant |
20 March 1943 | ||
|
Other Started out on the Southern Route to Europe |
23 October 1943 | ||
|
Other Accidentally lands in Ireland |
Shannon Airport (SNN), Co. Clare, Ireland | 5 November 1943 | At Rineanna Airfield (now Shannon International) |
|
Other Drops members of G Company, 501 Parachute Infantry Regiment |
Normandy | 5 June 1944 | |
|
Other Drops paratroopers as part of Operation Market Garden |
17 September 1944 | ||
|
Other Bailed out of burning aircraft |
Netherlands | 19 September 1944 | Suffered bad burns |
|
Other Taken to a field hospital |
Brussels, Belgium | 20 September 1944 | Kept safe by Dutch priests who returned him to American paratroopers |
|
Other Returned to the USA |
New York, NY, USA | 27 February 1945 | Still in need of future hospital treatments |
|
Other Married Sheila McKenna |
17 March 1945 | They had met in 1943 | |
|
Died |
21 April 2015 | On his 94th birthday | |
|
Other Moved with his family to Rocky Hill |
Rocky Hill, CT, USA | ||
|
Other Had reconstuctive surgery on his face at a hospital in Southampton |
Southampton, Southampton, UK | Exact date not yet known |
Revisions
NARA Award cards for the Silver Star and Air Medal w/one oak leaf cluster show his officer number.
Hartford Courant article: http://www.courant.com/community/rocky-hill/hc-rocky-hill-jesse-harriso…