Finis E Harris Jr

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-21973.jpeg UPL 21973 Lt Finis Ewing Harris, Jr. B-17 Pilot
305 Bomb Group, 422nd Bombardment Squadron
G 43-38973

Uploaded

Object Number - UPL 21973 - Lt Finis Ewing Harris, Jr. B-17 Pilot 305 Bomb Group, 422nd Bombardment Squadron G 43-38973

Lt Finis E. Harris, Jr., was the son of a judge in Cookeville, Tennessee, USA. The oldest of three sons, he joined the Army Air Corp. His two other brothers enlisted, as well. Returning from a mission on Kassel on 15/Dec/44 and the B-17 having been heavily damaged by flak and the number one engine out, they were flying in zero-zero weather with their location uncertain.



Harris reportedly was concerned about being able to land successfully and told the crew to bail out if inclined. Only one did. While trying to land using radio beacons, one wing hit the stay of the Air Ministry Gee Mast at Borough Hill, Daventry. The nine remaining crew members were killed in the crash.



Harris is buried in Cambridge American Cemetery along with four other members of the crew. A plaque to commemorate this crew was erected in Daventry at the town's War Memorial in August 2015, within sight of Borough Hill.



His brother, Cpl. Perry Rowe Harris, 498th Bomber Squadron, 345th Bomber Group, (B-25), was killed in action on Leyte, in the Philippines just weeks before Finis (12/Nov/44) and is buried in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. The surviving brother, Mark, was in training in the Army Air Corp in Nashville, Tennessee, USA at the time of his brothers' deaths and did not see action.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Unofficial emblem, 305th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 305th Bomb Group 422nd Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Died

15 December 1944

Born

Cookeville, TN, USA

Revisions

Date
Contributorbecsay
Changes
Sources

Granddaughter of S/Sgt Robert L. Burry

Date
Contributorcspindler
Changes
Date
Contributorcspindler
Changes
Sources

Harris family collection

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

305th BG unit history / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia

Finis E Harris: Gallery (1 items)